Overview

• The Landtag approved the overhaul backed by the SPD-Greens-FDP coalition with AfD support, with the law slated to take effect in October.
• New options include keeping urns at home, river burials on the Rhine, Moselle, Lahn and Saar, cloth burials, scattering ashes on private property with owner consent, and memorial diamonds, alongside added rights for burying stillborn babies and an autopsy requirement in unclear deaths of children up to six.
• Safeguards restrict the expanded choices to people whose last main residence was in Rhineland-Palatinate and require the deceased's written instructions.
• Operational rules assign key tasks to funeral directors, require burial of any remaining ash after procedures like river ceremonies or diamond creation, and leave exact river sections to be set by regulation.
• CDU and Free Voters voted against the law as churches warned of privatized mourning and the municipal association flagged cemetery financing risks, with officials promising close monitoring and later evaluation.