Archive for the ‘Funeral Law’ Category

A Viking Funeral? Doubtful.

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

The ship burial of the Viking ruler Igor the Old in Kievan Rus by Heinrich Semiradzki (1845-1902).

The ship burial of the Viking ruler Igor the Old in Kievan Rus by Heinrich Semiradzki (1845-1902).

Jeff Conaway wants a Viking funeral, but — if you read the story linked here closely — you may learn that Conaway has some personal issues and he may not be touching reality on a regular basis. Funeral directors and the Environmental Protection Agency tremble at the thought of a Viking funeral, and the possibility that a funeral with a flaming boat is possible is highly unlikely. Why? Simply because of logistics and the law.

Most people, when they envision a Viking funeral, think of a hero lying in a boat, pushed out to sea, and the boat set aflame by a well-marked arrow. Within minutes, the boat and the body are burned to ash, symbolizing the Phoenix, where the hero’s spirit rises above the flames to live eternally.

First, this vision is scientifically impossible, as it would take more than a few minutes and a flame hotter than that caused by a quickly burning boat to disintegrate a body. Even in a normal crematory process, temperatures of 760° to 1150°C (1400° to 2100°F) are required for one to two hours to cremate a ‘normal’ body. Larger bodies take longer. the most damage that a few minutes on a burning boat could do is burn the flesh away, revealing bones and muscle tissue.

Further, it has become more difficult and expensive to conduct an ocean funeral — even one that does not include a flaming boat. Most requirements for a full-body burial at sea (not scattering ashes) include a shroud or biodegradable coffin, no embalming — which means the body must be buried at sea as soon as possible — and a toe tag in case the body accidentally washes up on shore one day in the near future. If a biodegradable coffin is used, it usually must be drilled with holes to allow water in and must be weighted with about four-hundredweight of iron chain or concrete to try to keep the coffin from floating in to shore somewhere.

Additionally, some religions do not favor a burial at sea, including the Catholic Church. Burial at sea in a casket or in an urn is approved for cases where the deceased expired in the sea, however, and the committal prayer number 406§4 is used in this case:

Lord God,
by the power of your Word
you stilled the chaos of the primeval seas,
you made the raging waters of the Flood subside,
and calmed the storm on the sea of Galilee.
As we commit the body (earthly remains)

of our brother (sister) N. to the deep,
grant him/her peace and tranquility
until that day when he/she

and all who believe in you
will be raised to the glory of new life
promised in the waters of baptism.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.

Other religions might feel somewhat lenient about burials at sea, with consultation before the fact. The Anglican Communion, however, has detailed procedures for burial at sea, because many Anglican and other religious chaplains of the Royal Navy buried cremated remains of ex-Naval personnel at sea. The ship has to be stopped, and the body has to be sewn in sailcloth, together with two cannon balls for weight. Many Lutheran naval veterans and seamen also prefer to be buried at sea. In those cases either the casket or urn is set to sea, or ashes scattered. The procedure is similar as that with Anglican. Some parishes have specific consecrated sea areas, where ashes can be sprinkled.

California, with its long coastline, is the only U.S. State that does not permit full body burials at sea. The Environmental Protection Agency does carry regulations for full body burials at sea in the United States. Some of those requirements include a distance of at least three nautical miles from land and in water at least 600 feet deep. Certain areas, including east central Florida, the Dry Tortugas, Florida and west of Pensacola, Florida to the Mississippi River Delta, require water at least 1800 feet deep. Refer to the Code of Federal Regulations at 40 CFR 229.1 (PDF) for further details. Additionally, “all necessary measures shall be taken to ensure that the remains sink to the bottom rapidly and permanently.”

If you plan to dispose of a body illegally, read the information at Wikipedia about illegal disposal of bodies in water. According to that article, disposal in large lakes or oceans is more likely to hide the body, but a decomposing body can develop a strong positive buoyancy due to the decomposing gases being trapped underneath the skin. This may bring the body up to the surface, or at least increase the movement across the ocean floor due to wave actions. Many bodies have washed up at the shore (think about the caskets washed up on the Mississippi shore from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina). Bodies have also been discovered in the nets or lines of fishermen, and occasionally, bodies are also discovered by divers.

Additionally, very cold water with little oxygen may preserve bodies, considering Margaret Hogg, the Wasdale Lady in the Lake in Wast Water lake in the Wasdale area. She was found after 8 years, with her body preserved like wax.

Viking funeral? Maybe symbolically, but the reality of sending a full body out to sea and setting it on fire to dispose of the body is somewhat mythical and impractical, most likely illegal and a tad bit egoistic.

Tags: ,
Posted in Alternatives, Death Care News, Funeral Arrangements, Funeral Law | No Comments »

Germany’s Burial Traditions

Sunday, September 13th, 2009
The Invalidenfriedhof Cemetery, with the remains of the Berlin Wall in the background.

The Invalidenfriedhof Cemetery, with the remains of the Berlin Wall in the background.

Deathcare.com already offered a short article on American-German funeral traditions, which have become assimilated – for the most part – in American traditions based upon religious beliefs. But, in Germany, burial traditions often are different than those in other parts of the world, and have been so for generations. But, changes are in the works, and some of the following traditions also contain explanations of changes when known.

  • Cremation and embalming have, traditionally, been handled by the state rather than by funeral homes and survivors had no choice on what to do with cremated remains as they had to be buried in a cemetery. Germany has relented in some cases recently, as ashes may be scattered in cemeteries or taken out to sea beyond the three-mile limit and scattered.
  • Almost half of eastern Germany’s burials are what is known as “anonymous burial,” something unknown in the U.S. outside the Potter’s Field. Although the Catholic Church believes that anonymous burials are a trend away from religion, most opinions lean toward the expense of a grave marker and other funeral expanses as a reason to avoid traditional markers and other burial accouterments.
  • With the above said, German cemeteries now set aside a grassy plot for anonymous burials with one monument that states the purpose of this field without headstones. In opposition to the purpose of saving money through an anonymous burial, these cemetery plots cost more than the average plot, as it include perpetual care by employees rather than surviving family members.
  • Germany does allow two to four urns in a space that is required for one casket. In the U.S., you would be hard pressed to find a cemetery that would allow more than two urns in one burial space. Additionally, unlike the U.S., most German cemeteries currently do not require precautions to prevent contamination of groundwater by cremains.
  • German cemeteries are almost exclusively state- or church-operated, though exceptions are occasionally made for people with special religious needs. Muslims groups, for example, are permitted to have their own cemeteries. However, Germany has some of the strictest burial laws, many of which clash with Islamic burial rituals.
  • Plots are usually rented for a certain period of time, usually 20 to 30 years, with the possibility of an extension. Eventually the plot will be used for another burial, once the mourners themselves have passed away. In other words, don’t expect to remain buried in Germany for more than a generation.
  • Finally, German corpses seem to be obtaining revenge for re-using graves…the corpses are not rotting in some cases. The corpses are turning into mummified artifacts or grave wax, otherwise known as “adipocere.”

Sources:

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Cemeteries, Cremation, Funeral Arrangements, Funeral Law, History of Funerals | No Comments »

Current Funeral Home Fiascos

Friday, July 31st, 2009
Are they human bones or shells?

Are they human bones or shells?

Are you worried about receiving ashes (as in wood ashes) instead of your loved one’s cremains? Or, are you fighting for a body to be released from a funeral home? You wouldn’t be alone in both cases, as funeral homes in this country throughout July played some morbid and damaging games with clients. In other cases, some funeral directors and homes were sentenced to pay for damages this month for their parts in previous schemes.

  • The Unrefridgerated Corpse: The Hanley-Shelton Funeral Home in Marietta, Georgia was sanctioned by a state board for leaving a corpse unrefrigerated for five months. Although the funeral home had reason for revenge, as the client did not pay, their actions were illegal. Henry Shelton’s license was suspended for a month, he was placed on three years’ probation and will pay a $1,000 fine.
  • Seashells in the Urn: Marisol Villarreal discovered that her mother’s body had never been cremated and was instead left to decompose in a Gary, Indiana funeral home. Former funeral director Darryl Cammack of Chicago has been under investigation since May, when four extremely decayed bodies – including Rosa Villarreal’s – were found inside what had last been his Serenity Gardens Funeral Home. The Villarreal family filed a lawsuit against Cammack in Lake County, Ind., seeking damages for breach of contract, fraud, theft of services, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence.
  • Dirty Habits: Unsanitary conditions and improper body storage has led to stripping a funeral home of its directors’ and embalmers’ licenses. The Warren Funeral Chapels in Columbia and Fulton, Missouri, have been shut down since July 2008, and the charges have been settled this month.
  • The Case of the Shortened Legs: This month, a South Carolina judge revoked the license of Cave Funeral Home and owner Michael Cave for cutting the legs of a corpse because the body would not fit in the casket. The body was that of James Hines, a soul and funk guitarist who planed with J. Hines and the Boys in the 1970s.
  • Milking the Prearranged Funeral Plan: Douglas Darling’s mortician’s license was suspended for 15 days and he was ordered to pay a $500 fine. Darling was also ordered to pay $1,150 in investigative costs and attorneys fees, according to a stipulation and consent order. His crime? Soliciting older women for prearrangement services through Lakeview Funeral Home when he already sold them plans when he worked at Coffelt Funeral Service. Additionally, Idaho law prohibits licensed morticians from making uninvited solicitations.
  • Embezzling Ex: An arrest warrant was issued this month for former funeral home director John W. Hodge, who stole nearly $200,000, possibly from a prepaid funeral fund at Hodge Funeral Homes in Elgin and Fletcher, Oklahoma. The state Funeral Board stripped him of his funeral director and embalmer license and revoked the establishment licenses of both facilities after he acknowledged he failed to properly file annual accounting in 2004 and 2005.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Cremation, Death & Dying, Death Investigation, Funeral Arrangements, Funeral Law, Other Legal Matters | No Comments »

How to Transport a Body Across State Lines

Thursday, July 16th, 2009

Lincoln's Funeral Train

Lincoln

You may have read about the Oklahoma couple who covered up the death of a daughter and who transported that child’s body across six state lines about six times for a total of 1,900 miles before they were caught. While cases like this occur occasionally, body transportation must exist to return a body to a family or to send the deceased to a burial location outside the place of death, among other legitimate reasons. Can you deliver a body yourself, or do regulations exist to prevent this measure?

Body transport is governed on the state level, and a few states boast independent licensed body transportation such as Virginia and Florida. In other states, such as Vermont, the transporter’s license is tied to a funeral home or crematory. In some cases, you simply need the death certificate and an out-of-state disposition permit from Vital Records or from a funeral director to move a body from one state to another.

In Missouri, for instance, you can move a body by “common carrier” if the death was not caused by a contagious disease and if the destination can be reached within 24 hours. Texas issues a “burial transport permit” for death occuring in the state and honors the same from other locations. The Texas practice is one that is familiar from historical records, where permits were required to move a body from one location to another and to mark its progress. States began to issue these permits about the mid 1800s, around the same time as the Civil War.

But, body transport across state lines actually became easier with rail development. The New York City Department of Health kept a register of bodies in transit from 1859 to 1894 (see Family History Library microfilm 1671686, -87 and -88). Abraham Lincoln was one of those bodies, as his corpse passed through New York on 24 April 1865 from Washington, DC to the former president’s resting place in Springfield, Illinois.

In most cases, especially those where the body is transported by public means (rail, plane, etc.) or when the transport takes longer than 24 hours, the body must be embalmed. Also, when working with funeral homes for transportation, it often is much less expensive to work with the destination funeral home than it is with the funeral home located at the place of death. Many funeral homes may work with Inman Nationwide, a company that serves funeral directors throughout the U.S., Canada, Alaska, Great Britain and the Caribbean.

Inman Nationwide will pick up the body, have it embalmed and drive it to the airport for approximately $1,000 (airfare not included). If you want to save money, however, the best option would be to check with all states that you may need to cross to deliver the body and learn about what each state requires to transport that body. Often, with a body bag and a car, you can perform the service yourself after the body has been embalmed. In most cases, however, you are required to be under the direction of a licensed funeral director.

The complication of delivering a body across state lines is one reason to pre-arrange funeral options. If you know that you want to be buried in a state outside your residential state, then plan ahead and don’t push these plans on your loved ones after you’re gone. Learning how to transport a body legally across state lines is a job that requires more than one day’s worth of investigation.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Alternatives, Funeral Arrangements, Funeral Law, Other Legal Matters | No Comments »

Six Methods for Scattering Cremains

Saturday, June 27th, 2009
Beach Flower

Scatter on a beach.

Do you wish to have your remains scattered after a cremation? If so, make your wishes known now to friends and/or loved ones so no one is taken aback by your request once you’re gone. Once you’ve made your decision and informed loved ones, you still need to decide how you’ll want your cremains (remains after cremation) scattered.

There are six basic ways to scatter remains and each one has benefits and problems, which are listed below. No matter which method you decide, just know that scattering cremains is legal in every state; however, scattering on public property needs a property owner’s permission and scattering on public property needs permission and often permits as well.

  1. Aerial Scattering: After scaqttering ashes at home, this is the most popular method for scattering cremains. But, despite the popularity (or perhaps because of it), many people experience sometimes traumatic issues if a professional is not hired to help with this method. There are stories of cremains blowing back into a plane, wrong locations pointed out and more. A coordinated effort with the weather can bring joy and closure to those on the ground, as on clear days you actually can see the cremains falling from the plane like a cloud.
  2. Water Scattering: A boat can be as interesting as a plane when scattering cremains over water. Watching for wind patterns is essential to keep cremains from blowing back on mourners or onto the boat. One way to remedy this situation is to use a water-soluble urn. These urns are designed to degrade in water, which helps to spread the cremains into the water body easily. This type of urn usually floats for a few minutes before it sinks slowly. Once again, you might want to hire a professional for this service so everything goes smoothly.
  3. Casting: This method of scattering cremains involves tossing cremains to the wind. Once again, wind patterns are important, as while some cremains are heavy and dense like sand, other portions may fly into the wind and fly back onto mourners.
  4. Trenching: This method involves digging a trench, depositing the cremains in the trench, and then raking back over it to cover the cremains. One burial site mentions a beautiful idea that involves digging a trench in sand on a beach during low tide, then waiting for the high tide to come in to wash the cremains out to sea.
  5. Ringing: This method involves pouring the cremains in a circle on the ground, with or without a trench. Usually, the cremains are used to circle a bush (perhaps a rose bush), trees or memory tables.
  6. Raking: A cemetery that contains a scattering garden may offer this opportunity, where a loved one’s cremains are raked into the earth. This method also is used by many who choose to leave their cremains on an old homeplace or in a public location like a park.

If you choose to scatter your cremated remains, you might learn that some family members may want to keep a piece of you with them. The individuals who have the legal right to authorize a cremation usually have the right to determine the disposition of remains as well. These decisions usually are easier to make while you are still alive.

Tags: ,
Posted in Alternatives, Funeral Arrangements, Funeral Law | No Comments »

Oregon Senator Seeks At-Home Burial Regulations

Friday, May 29th, 2009

According to a recent news article, a state lawmaker in Oregon wants to set some ground rules for at-home funerals. Oregon’s Mortuary and Cemetery Board is receiving more calls from people who cannot afford a traditional funeral and who are seeking a less expensive way to deal with a family death. Some families may opt for cremation, which still remains less expensive than a traditional funeral. Others, however, are asking about at-home funerals.

Democratic Senator Vicki Walker from Eugene, Oregon stated, “I did not know you could bury grandma in the backyard, which really alarmed me.” Therefore, Walker now is sponsoring a bill that would require home burials be on private property and to notify the state and whomever purchases the home in the future that someone is buried on the property.

Additionally, the bill requires that all death care consultants pass an exam and be licensed to operate. This is a portion of the bill that the Mortuary and Cemetery Board supports. Traditional funeral practitioners and embalmers must be licensed by the state, but death doulas or death midwives are not licensed in Oregon.

Oregon is home to at least five green burial companies, one undersea memorial business and definitely is silent [PDF] on the matter of private property burials. That last link also states that “State law places no specific restriction on the burial or scattering of processed cremated remains.” Despite the lax law regarding private home burials, the responsible funeral service practitioner (FSP) or “person acting as an FSP” must comply with ORS 432.307 to 432.333 pertaining to Death Certificates and Burial Permits.

Tags: ,
Posted in Alternatives, Cemeteries, Funeral Arrangements, Funeral Law | 1 Comment »

Funeral Homes and the Funeral Law – RIP or Rip-off?

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

According to a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report filed in March 2009, approximately one-fourth of the funeral homes investigated by undercover federal investigators violated the Funeral Rule significantly during 2008. These federal investigators visited 104 funeral homes in seven states, part of an undercover inspection of funeral homes conducted every year to help ensure compliance and maintain consumer confidence.

The Funeral Rule requires funeral homes to provide consumers with an itemized price list of products and services at the start of a discussion at the home of funeral arrangements, and to show them a casket price list before they view any caskets. This ruling also allows consumers to purchase only the funeral arrangements they want. Consumers also have the right to buy separate goods (such as caskets) and services (such as embalming or a memorial service).

Funeral homes found to have significant violations can choose to enter the Funeral Rule Offenders Program (FROP) as an alternative to the prospect of a lawsuit that could lead to a court order and civil penalties. The FROP is a three-year compliance training and monitoring program run by the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA). Funeral homes that participate in the program make a voluntary payment to the U.S. Treasury in place of a civil penalty, and they pay annual administrative fees to the NFDA.

According to the FTC press release, “Annual undercover investigations serve two purposes,” said Eileen Harrington, Acting Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “They help ensure that funeral homes are playing by the Funeral Rule, and they protect consumers, who can shop for a variety of funeral goods and services with confidence. The Rule – and these undercover investigations – make it possible for people to compare prices and buy only those services they want or need.”

Here are some of the FTC findings:

  • In Fairbanks and Anchorage, Alaska, two of 11 funeral homes inspected had significant violations; five had minor compliance deficiencies.
  • In Northeastern Arkansas, 11 of 15 funeral homes inspected had significant violations; four had minor compliance deficiencies.
  • In Orange County, California, two significant violations were found among 18 funeral homes inspected; nine had minor compliance deficiencies.
  • In Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, one of 16 funeral homes inspected had significant violations; seven had minor compliance deficiencies.
  • In Nassau County, New York, two of 18 funeral homes inspected had significant violations; three had minor compliance deficiencies.
  • In Toledo, Ohio, one of 15 funeral homes inspected had significant violations; nine had minor compliance deficiencies.
  • In San Antonio, Texas, seven of 11 funeral homes inspected had significant violations; one had minor compliance deficiencies.

Funeral homes that participate in the FROP program receive compliance training, legal review of price list disclosures required by the Funeral Rule, and regular testing and compliance monitoring. When investigators find minor compliance deficiencies, the funeral home receives a notice requiring it to provide evidence that it has corrected the problem.

In general, the Funeral Rule requires:

  • Funeral homes to give consumers an itemized General Price List (GPL) at the beginning of an in-person discussion of funeral arrangements, and show them a Casket Price List before they view caskets.
  • The Rule also prohibits funeral homes from requiring consumers to buy any item, such as a casket, as a condition of obtaining any other funeral good or service. By requiring itemized prices, the Rule gives consumers the ability to compare prices among funeral homes and buy only the goods and services they want.

Since the FROP program began in 1996, the FTC has inspected more than 2,150 funeral homes and referred more than 300 funeral homes to the FROP program. In conducting these enforcement sweeps, the agency has benefited from the assistance of several state attorneys general and the AARP.

In addition to its law enforcement efforts, the FTC educates consumers in English and Spanish about their rights under the Funeral Rule, and provides guidance to businesses in how to comply. During 2008, the agency responded to requests for more than 100,000 copies of three of these publications: “Paying Final Respects: Your Rights When Buying Funeral Goods & Services,” “Funerals: A Consumer Guide,” and “Complying with the Funeral Rule.” Consumers also have accessed information about the Rule more than 138,000 times during 2008 from the FTC’s Web site, www.ftc.gov.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 1,500 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s Web site provides free information on a variety of consumer topics.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Funeral Arrangements, Funeral Homes, Funeral Law | No Comments »

PrePayment – Is It the Right Choice?

Tuesday, May 26th, 2009

How many times have you thought about prepaying for your funeral? After all, if you have money set aside and funeral plans all set, then your loved ones won’t need to worry about how to pay for your passing. While this willingness to prepay is gallant, you may be entering risky territory with a prepayment plan option. In fact, it may be money flushed down the toilet.

While prepayment funeral options (also known as pre-need) are regulated, a number of abuses have been reported. And, pre-need funeral options vary from state to state as well. Here are some examples:

  • In Mississippi, the state’s Pre-Need Act stipulated that 50 percent of funds prepaid for burial and related services had to be deposited in a trust fund when this plan was developed in 2001. In 2006, it was amended to 85 percent. Changes in 2009 will include directing $10 from each customer’s contract to build a fund geared to protect consumers against future reported contract problems.
  • In Illinois, Merrill Lynch & Co. has agreed to pay $18 million to end a State of Illinois investigation into its role in the erosion of a trust that was supposed to safeguard consumer deposits meant to pay for their funerals. The trust, however, has a $50 million deficit, which regulators blame on the trade group’s investment strategies.
  • In Georgia, the IRS closed down a funeral home for neglect to pay back taxes and confiscated papers. No one knows who has prepaid for funerals at this funeral home, but the owner states that a friend “would honor their contracts.”
  • In Missouri, lawmakers felt it necessary to pass a pre-need funeral service bill that would require that all pre-need sellers be registered and licensed with the state. It also provides the state Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors authority to audit the finances of pre-need funeral contract sellers to ensure they are at least 85 percent funded to meet their obligations to consumers.

Those news articles listed above are from 2009, so you can see that the pre-need funeral industry remains shaky at best in some states. Plus, prepayment isn’t a good deal for you financially – if it weren’t a good deal for funeral homes, then they wouldn’t take your money. Finally, a price set in 1990 is no longer viable today. The casket your mother picked out might not be available, and you would be stuck with the difference in cost between 1990 and now.

How do you overcome this problem?

Instead of providing a pre-need salesman with your hard-earned money, think about setting aside funds in a special account that you control and that helps you earn interest. Depending upon the funeral you want, it wouldn’t take long to save up the money you’d need, especially if you opt for a low-cost option. Check with a trusted banker or broker to learn about options available to you today.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Funeral Arrangements, Funeral Homes, Funeral Law, Plan Your Own | No Comments »

Tips on Choosing a Funeral Home

Sunday, May 17th, 2009

Be careful about choosing a funeral home at the last minute.Did you know that you don’t need to work directly with a funeral home or a funeral director when you are dealing with a death in the family? But, unless you or your loved ones plan ahead for a burial, working with an experienced professional can smooth the path for a well-run funeral. A funeral home and its director can walk you through the entire funeral process, including obtaining copies of the deceased’s death certificate, writing an obituary, contacting Social Security and more.

If you or your loved ones haven’t chosen a funeral home to help with these processes, you may end up choosing a home under extreme emotional duress. Although you may receive a recommendation from a friend or a clergy member, you still should understand your rights and your privileges when entering into a contract with a funeral home.

  • Although you do not need to choose a funeral home near your location, this may be the right choice…convenience often is a logical deciding factor.
  • Shop around. Although friends, family or other trusted references may provide you with ample choices, you can shop by phone for funeral prices and options.
  • Cost is a consideration, and funeral homes must provide transparency for these costs, even over the phone. Ask for a GPL, or General Price List, from the funeral home. This list will include the cost of embalming, other body preparations (such as hairstyling, etc.), services and facilities for viewing the body, for the funeral ceremony, memorial service and graveside service and more.
  • Visit the funeral home to view their accommodations. Is it large enough? Comfortable? Friendly? The funeral often is for the living, not for the deceased, so make sure the funeral home will provide comfort to those who might attend the funeral.
  • When you visit a funeral home to view their accommodations or to choose a casket, ask to see other options that aren’t in the showroom. You may learn that the funeral home has less expensive caskets available.
  • If you were intimately connected to the deceased, don’t shop for funeral homes alone. Allow yourself time to grieve and let a trusted friend handle negotiations. Do not trust the funeral home (or any other complete stranger) to handle your decisions for you at this time of loss.

You also can use this checklist below (from Mahalo) to learn more about what you may need to deal with at the last minute, if you don’t help your loved ones prepare for a funeral now:

Disposition of Remains Costs:

  • Immediate burial
  • Immediate cremation
  • Donation of body to medical school or hospital

Traditional Full Service Burial or Cremation Costs:

  • Basic services fee
  • Pickup of body
  • Embalming
  • Other body preparation costs
  • Least expensive casket
  • Visitation/Viewing staff and facilities
  • Funeral or memorial service staff and facilities
  • Graveside service staff and equipment
  • Hearse

Other Services:

  • Forwarding body to another funeral home
  • Receiving body to another funeral home

Cemetery-Related Costs:

  • Cost of cemetery plot or crypt
  • Perpetual care
  • Opening and closing of grave or crypt
  • Grave liner or burial vault (Required by cemeteries to prevent the ground from sinking after the burial.)
  • Marker or monument

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Funeral Arrangements, Funeral Homes, Funeral Law | No Comments »

How to Legally Cut Funeral Costs

Friday, May 15th, 2009

Do you expect your family members to be as responsible as you when it comes to planning for your death? You might be surprised at how many people ignore these responsibilities and leave the funeral planning to others after death. Many funeral homes still count on this lack of interest in planning funerals, and they also expect that most people have not heard about the Federal Trade Commission’s Funeral Rule. By understanding this one document, you can expect to pay for a less expensive last-minute funeral.

Federal involvement in the funeral industry began when customers realized that they were often held hostage by emotional decisions. They would put their trust in the local funeral director to handle all arrangements, but often would pay thousands of dollars more than necessary. The reason behind this fleecing was corporate interest in the then highly-profitable funeral industry.

The laws to protect customers were enacted in the 1990s, and old habits die hard for some funeral directors. The most recent scams include selling body parts to medical facilities, embezzlement and the need for Missouri lawmakers to pass a pre-need funeral service bill ensuring that sellers cannot squander funds meant to pay for burials. While many funeral directors and funeral homes might be quite honest, it helps to know a few legalities that help you cut a funeral cost.

  • Remember that you always have the option to purchase an urn, coffin or any other product from any place you wish. You do not have to purchase any item from the funeral home. While the funeral director can try to persuade you to not do this, he cannot punish you with handling fees, raising prices of the service or by imposing any other extra charges.
  • If the funeral director offers a lower price than the other outside product, you can demand to know why this price wasn’t offered in the first place. Do not take his or her offer, as your offer helps the funeral home with its ultimate goal of putting lower-priced competitors out of business.
  • You can ask for a price list over the phone before you make a decision. This means that you do not need to visit a funeral home to make a decision and you can ask for several different price lists from various local options for comparison.
  • Don’t be afraid to call the Better Business Bureau to learn whether the funeral home has garnered previous complaints. Also, you can always remind the funeral director that you know about the Federal Trade Commission’s Funeral Rule, and that you know that any violation of that ruling can lead to a $10,000 fine per violation and even a loss of a funeral license. This polite confrontation may bring prices and unreasonable charges quickly down to size.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Alternatives, Funeral Arrangements, Funeral Homes, Funeral Law, Plan Your Own | 1 Comment »