Mississippi End of Life Guide

Advance Directives 

Advance Directives are legal documents that allow you to make known your end-of-life care ahead of time. The state of Mississippi recognizes your right to decide the terms of your own medical treatment and to assign a person to make those decisions when you are not able to do so. 

Here are some important questions to consider before beginning this process:

• Is this document(s) state specific? No

• Does this document(s) need to be notarized? Yes*

• Does this document(s) require witnesses? If so, how many? Yes / 2

• Can you legally use Aging With Dignity's 5 Wishes Doc? Yes

* Document can have either notarization OR witnesses 

There is a single Advance Directive form for Mississippi that you can download by clicking below:

  MISSISSIPPI ADVANCE DIRECTIVE FORM

(Source: Mississippi Legal Services)

Death With Dignity

Death with Dignity laws allow the dying more control of their death and end-of-life decisions. These laws allow terminally-ill, able-minded state residents to request and receive prescription medication to hasten their death. 

In Mississippi, Death With Dignity legislation has not been passed under a House or Senate Bill. On January 13, 2016, Mississippi State Senator Debbie Dawkins introduced SB 2283, the Mississippi Death with Dignity Act. This is the first time the Mississippi legislature will be considering an assisted death bill in 20 years. To follow this legislation, see the Death with Dignity Mississippi page.

Designated Funeral Agent

Mississippi Code 75-63-25 allows an individual to make their disposition preferences known with a funeral director in a "preneed contract". If the individual has not designated any preferences, responsibility for disposition will go to next-of-kin. 

Financial Assistance

Mississippi state does not offer burial assistance. Counties provide indigents with a simple, decent burial for all persons who die in their local County without family or assets that could otherwise provide the cost or means of burial.

See our Financial Assistance Chart for more details.

Home Funeral

Home funerals, or family led funerals, are 100% legal in Mississippi. Your family or appointed agent may care for the deceased and handle all your funeral arrangements and necessary paperwork (permits and certificates) without a funeral director:

Check with the National Home Funeral Alliance for up-to-date details on how to navigate home funerals in Mississippi.

Personal preference laws for body disposition obligate your survivors to follow your written[or verbal] personal preferences. This often goes hand-in-hand with designating a funeral agent to follow through with your funeral or body disposition preferences.

In Mississippi, there is not a law obligating your survivors to follow your personal preferences. However, we always recommend outlining your funeral preference in writing and sharingthem with your designated funeral agent, next-of-kin, or spouse, giving you the best chance of having them seen through or upheld in the court.