THE FUNERAL RULE

Past abuses and unethical practices by some funeral care providers resulted in the 1982 enactment of the Funeral Rule by the Federal Trade Commission. In general, the Funeral Rule requires full price disclosure and outlines both required and prohibited activities for the death services industry.

Some activities prohibited under the Funeral Rule include:

1. Pressuring the customer to select particular merchandise or services or suggesting that any products provided are inadequate or unsatisfactory.
2. Charging a handling fee for paying third parties on your behalf.
3. Charging a handling fee for using a casket obtained from some other source.
4. Charging for goods or services not selected by the customer.
5. Charging an extra fee for filing the death certificate.
6. Misrepresenting laws and rules regarding funeral directing and required services.
7. Charging interest on unpaid balances unless these fees have been explicitly disclosed in the Itemized Statement.

If you believe that a funeral director is pressuring you or that you have been the victim of a prohibited activity, you may report him/her to the agency regulating their activities in your state or to the Federal Trade Commission.

OBITUARIES AND DEATH NOTICES

An obituary is a published notice of death written by newspaper staff and controlled by the newspaper’s editorial policy. You may provide as much, or as little information as you wish, however there is no guarantee that it will be used. Make an effort to write a thoughtful paragraph or two about your spouse and submit it to your news-hungry local newspaper. It is much more likely to run locally (as opposed to the big city newspaper) and be seen by the people in your community.

Death notices are paid advertisements that must be published. Take the time and make the investment to properly memorialize your spouse with an appropriate death notice. List your spouse’s family members and his or her accomplishments. Although it costs more, run the death notice for at least two days to be sure that it is seen by as many people who knew your late spouse as possible.