Woman divides opinion after publishing strict guest list for her funeral – and banning her family

A woman has gone viral from beyond the grave after publishing controversial instructions for her funeral.

Maria Paz Fuentes Fernandez, from Spain, used her obituary to detail exactly who she wanted to attend the event – and this categorically didn’t include a very particular group.

Published in Galicia’s El Progreso newspaper, the posthumous request read: "Since my blood relatives haven’t been my family for a long time, I declare in my last will and testament that only the following people can attend my funeral…”

She then listed the names of her 15 chosen attendees.

To cover all bases, she even specified that her directive covered visits to the mortuary, church and cemetery, in case any of her relatives thought they could participate in at least one aspect of the service.

Ending her note, Maria – who did not give her age – said: "To all the other people who never cared during my life, I want you to continue to stay as far away from me as possible.”

Her final wishes have sparked an intense debate online, with some readers sharing their empathy with her decision, while others branded her sad and bitter.

One admirer said her message should be adapted into a novel:

Meanwhile, another Twitter user wrote (in Spanish): “She’s completely right. If they weren’t here for her in life, she certainly doesn’t need them in death. Now they’ll have to go without playing the role of grief-stricken victims with their crocodile tears.”

“Absolutely,” said another. “When she asked them for help or support they just tossed her to one side. So why should they now go and cry for her if they couldn’t even be bothered to see her in life?”

And a third commented: “I fully agree with Ms María Paz Fuentes Fernandez. Some family members really don’t behave like family. Why should they go to the funeral?”

However, a critic of her approach wrote: “It’s said to die bitter. Things like this highlight the importance and beauty of forgiveness.”

But another commentator refuted their suggestion.

“She didn’t die bitter,” they insisted. “She died happy, with 15 people by her side who had always been there for her.”

In other words, “she had the final say on who should bid her an eternal farewell”.