Important

[Jlord31]

What is the name of your state? New York
Is it illegal for me to fill out a fake obituary and put it in the newspaper because i have a few people looking for me that wants to hurt me and I just want them to stop looking for me to put me in harm's way so I can live on my life happy with no harm coming my way I don't have any family and I'm not hiding from any Warrants and I'm not going to collect anything I just want to know if I can make a fake obituary for me to put in the newspaper just so i could live a happy life with the love of my life and not have to constantly worry that someone is coming to hurt me ??

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

I can't think of any law that would violate but that doesn't mean that the plan will work. If you actually have reason to fear you should contact the police.

 

[LdiJ]

I can't think of any law that would violate but that doesn't mean that the plan will work. If you actually have reason to fear you should contact the police.

There is also the chance that it could cause some confusion for the OP himself down the road...particularly since he doesn't have any family that could identify him as him.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

There is also the chance that it could cause some confusion for the OP himself down the road...particularly since he doesn't have any family that could identify him as him.

For the record I think the whole idea is silly and won't do what the OP thinks it will do. But that said, where would the confusion come in? It isn't like an Obit is an official document of some type.

Also, the OP seems to have some sort of significant other that will be in on the deal.

 

[Mass_Shyster]

Obituaries generally identify the funeral home handling the arrangements. That funeral home usually posts the obit on their website.

I also believe that the funeral home transmits the obit to the newspaper. I'm not sure a newspaper would publish an obituary that was received from an unknown source with no way to verify the death.

However, I had a college professor who would not accept a newspaper obituary as an excuse for missing an exam since "Newspapers will print anything for money".

PS. I don't respond to private messages requesting legal advice.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

Back when I was around the newspaper business they only accepted them from funeral homes but it was a long time ago so I didn't mention it.

 

[FlyingRon]

Actually, the funeral home submits the obituary because it is financially advantageous for them to do so. They charge the bereaved dearly for this service. However, the papers I've dealt with will be happy to sell you an obituary. It's just advertising. The Washington Post, for example, even posts the rates on the obituary page.

 

[Mass_Shyster]

When my father passed away in 1989, the local newspaper did not charge for obituaries and the funeral home said it was the papers policy NOT to print the name of his one grandson. When my mother passed in 2014, the newspaper had changed their policy and was happy to print the names of her nine grandchildren (eight born after 1989)

 

[FlyingRon]

Interesting. Nearly every paper I've dealt with charges dearly for obits.

 

[quincy]

Jlord31, like Mass_Shyster, I generally do not respond to private messages. I am glad you decided to post your question here.

The question you ask has been asked before. It was said then that, if your reasons for posting your own obituary are not to avoid legal obligations or law enforcement detection, you probably have little to worry about from a legal or publication standpoint.

Fake obituaries have been published before. They are easier to publish now because of on online memorial sites that often have rather relaxed submission rules. Traditional newspapers will accept obituaries submitted by funeral homes and the editors tend to check all facts in an obituary carefully because these are read carefully by those who are related in some way to the deceased.

Because traditionally obituaries are handled by the advertising department of newspapers as paid notices (unless the deceased is famous), not everyone who dies will be listed in a paper.

Both Ernest Hemingway and Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) had obituaries published before they died (although this was not of their doing), which led to Twain’s oft-quoted response to the Associated Press: “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”

With all of that said, if you are afraid for your safety, a report to the police or legally changing your name seem to me to be better solutions.

 

[stealth2]

Huh. I had no problem submitting my Dad's obit. A few months ago...

 

[quincy]

Huh. I had no problem submitting my Dad's obit. A few months ago...

Was it published in a traditional newspaper? Did you pay for the obituary?

 

[NeilTheCop]

There is also the chance that it could cause some confusion for the OP himself down the road...particularly since he doesn't have any family that could identify him as him.

And what if he tries to renew his drivers license and they refuse, because he's dead

 

[Zigner]

And what if he tries to renew his drivers license and they refuse, because he's dead

There is no official report or record of death. States don't comb the Podunk Gazette for death notices as a way of recording deaths.

 

[stealth2]

Was it published in a traditional newspaper? Did you pay for the obituary?

Yes, and yes.