A High Court judge has intervened to resolve a distressing family dispute over the burial of a 95-year-old man whose body had been held in a mortuary for nearly five months. Michael Godwin died in a Leeds hospital in November 2025, and his remains were partially embalmed while his sons William and Jason Godwin argued over whether he should be cremated or buried.
William Godwin sought a declaration from the High Court to affirm his lawful authority to arrange his father’s cremation, while Jason wanted a burial in a French cemetery in line with a 2003 will. Michael Godwin, born in Surbiton and a former lift engineer, had lived in the south of France for over 30 years and expressed a wish to be interred there.
Judge Jonathan Klein ruled on Wednesday that Mr Godwin must be buried in England with a Church of England funeral. The judge noted that Michael had expressed a consistent wish to be buried and that repatriation to France would cause significant delay. He also highlighted the lack of family ties to the French village of Hargeville, saying it was unlikely anyone would visit the grave.
The judge further noted that the prolonged delay meant Mr Godwin’s body had decomposed and might be in a state of putrefaction. He ordered William to extend an invitation to his brother for the funeral.
