KEY POINTS:
A woman who is in dispute with her husband's family over where his body should be buried has obtained permission to exhume the body.
Jim Takamore died suddenly of a heart attack in Christchurch late last month.
Before he was buried his body was taken away by North Island family who buried him near Opotiki in the Bay of Plenty without the consent of his partner of 25 years Denise Clark.
Ms Clark has obtained permission from the Ministry of Health to exhume the body and has been advised by her lawyer not to comment further.
She had originally obtained a court order which should have stopped the North Island interment, but police failed to enforce it.
A ministry spokesman confirmed today the police had been issued with a licence to exhume Mr Takamore's body.
"Whether they do or not is up to them," the spokesman said.
Requests for exhumations were "quite rare," he said.
Police said they were continuing to work with the members of the family of Mr Takamore.
Superintendent Gary Smith, district commander for Bay of Plenty, said: "Police have received the authority to carry out the disinterment but the focus is on coming to an amicable agreement as to the proper process to be followed before any action is taken with regards to the disinterment of Mr Takamore."
Ms Clarke said she was pleased the ministry had granted permission for the exhumation, but realised it was just the first step.
"I feel quite relieved about it," she told The Press newspaper.
"I know it's going to be a long, hard battle. It's not going to be easy," she said.
A trust has been established to help Ms Clarke cover legal fees and costs.
- NEWSTALK ZB, NZPA
