My Mom has asked me to make sure that when she passes, not to notify her 2 sisters in Florida. They haven't spoken since my Nan died 35 years ago because her sisters threatened to sue me because my Nan and Pap, who raised me and had custody of me, left me everything in their will because my Mom's sisters were all married and had homes of their own but I didn't and was in college. They haven't even bothered with her as she has been dealing with serious health issues. They swarm in like a pack of vultures whenever a family member dies to see what they can get their hands on even though they are both wealthy. My Mom said she only wants a graveside ceremony with my brother and me in attendance and she wants her ashes mixed with her dogs and buried next to my grandparents. How do I go about letting her friends know when the time has come and honor her wishes not to have her sisters notified? She said she doesn't want them coming in at me again and fighting with me so that's why she doesn't want them notified. She knows how tough it was on me when I was 18, a college freshman, and having her sisters fight with me and threaten me. I had to leave school for a while because I had to spend every dime I had to hire a lawyer to fight them because I feel it's disrespectful for not complying with your parents final wishes. That's why I'm so conflicted because I want her friends notified and in our area, it's a law to have the obituary printed in the newspaper so it's officially on the record that the person has died. She has many great friends and I want them to know but I know her sisters still read our local paper online.
I doubt an obituary is required in your state. Perhaps you are referring to a death notice.
Still, I am not sure what your are worried about. If everything is on the up and up regarding the inheritance, then your aunts can not do anything.
If they do attend the funeral for some odd reason, just ignore them.
If the money is has not been passed down properly and legally, they most likely will eventually find out about the death, and may have grounds to challenge a will or do a turnover on any bank accounts.
Is there a legal requirement to print an obituary in the newspaper ...
https://articles.extension.org/.../is-there-a-legal-requirement-to-print-an-obituary-in-the-newspaper?
"Check with an estate planning attorney or the county office that administers probate proceedings (often called a Surrogate) in the area where the deceased person lived. Most regulations regarding estate planning issues are state-specific. Many states do not have a legal requirement to have an obituary printed in a local newspaper.
If someone decides that he or she doesn't want a printed obituary, or if the deceased person's survivors decide not to have one, there is no state law that compels them to do so.
However, state law will require that a death certificate be filed with the state's office of vital statistics.
A deceased person's executor or a court-appointed administrator in the case of intestacy (i.e., someone dying without a will) will also need copies of the death certificate to transfer and retitle assets.
The attending physician or a health care facility (e.g., hospital, nursing home, hospice) usually takes care of requesting or preparing this document. Again, check with local officials regarding local laws about notification of a loved one's death in a particular state. Public notice of death is often used in probate to provide known creditors notice of the probate case by mail.
The notification process also includes publishing a notice in a local newspaper. The latter is intended to reach unknown creditors to give them an opportunity to make a claim against the estate."
I never put my dad's death in a newspaper and, as far as I know, I wasn't legally bound to. Everyone he knew was dead and he didn't owe anything to anyone.
I would check with your local courthouse but I don't think you are REQUIRED to print it.