General Concerns
All Funeral Homes operate under the umbrella
of the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC has specific guidelines
which all funeral homes must follow. The Funeral Rule as it has
been termed is intended to protect all consumers from abuse by
members of the funeral home industry.
Embalming
Embalming is a process of preservation of the body. It is performed
to actually delay the natural processes of decomposition of the
body in order to allow sufficient time for viewing by family
and friends. Many people believe that embalming is a requirement
and that you must pay the funeral home to embalm. The truth is
that there are no legal requirements for embalming. The Federal
Trade Commission stipulates that funeral homes can only require
embalaming when families select to have viewings or when the
body must be transported long distances to arrive at the site
for the funeral. In all other instances the family has the right
to choose not to embalm and they cannot be charged.
Casket Purchases
The purchase of a casket is an important decision.
You have the right to purchase a casket from a funeral home,
from a cemetery or from a third party casket seller. In the state
of Maryland there are only a few casket stores. Across the country
there are many third party casket stores. Check in the yellow
pages in your area and call several casket stores if they are
available in your area.
When you visit the funeral home to make arrangements, you should
see a display of caskets. By FTC regulations, all funeral homes
must display all of their casket designs in the same manner.
The lower priced caskets must be displayed in the same manner
as the other higher priced caskets. Price lists should be available
to you to show you all prices so that you can compare and make
your decisions.
You can check with your cemetery if you wish to see if they sell
caskets. If they do compare their prices with the prices of the
funeral home as well as the third party sellers. Make your decision
based upon quality and price. If you purchase your casket from
outside of the funeral home, the seller will have it delivered
to the funeral home within 24 hours or sooner.
As a general rule if the price difference between the funeral
home and other parties is not substantial, I would recommend
that you purchase the casket from the funeral home. If the price
difference is substantial, exercise your right to purchase from
the company of your choice.
Vault Purchases
The purchase of a vault is a little bit different
from the purchase of a casket. The first thing you should determine
is if there are any requirements in your cemetery. Find out if
your cemetery requires a vault or a concrete liner. Most cemeteries
do because it protects the grave itself from sinking. The difference
between a vault and a liner is rather simple. The concrete liner
is nothing more than a concrete box with a concrete lid which
is placed on the liner after the casket has been lowered in to
the liner itself. It is sometimes sealed but often it is not.
A vault is made from metal or concrete and is made to be sealed
once the casket is placed inside. More expensive vaults guarantee
once sealed that moisture will not penetrate the vault itself.
For some people this protection is important. This is an personal
and an individual decision.
My personal opinion is that a concrete liner is sufficient. You
can purchase this liner from a funeral home, a cemetery or a
third party seller of caskets and vaults. Compare their prices
for similar liners or vaults. Make your decision based upon the
price information that you receive.
If you are thinking about purchasing a liner from a cemetery
ask them if they will be
using a newly delivered liner or if they will be using a liner
which has been on-site for some time. Some cemeteries stock pile
these liners. Remember that they are made of concrete and like
your sidewalk it can deteriorate if allowed to sit out in the
elements for extended periods of time.
Memorial Purchases
The purchase of a memorial is an important decision.
It should not be made during the process of arranging a funeral.
You are too emotionally involved. You need time to think about
what is best for you and your family, not only financially but
also emotionally. The selection of a memorial signals another
phase in the coping process. It is always best to way until the
funeral is over. It is not appropriate for anyone to approach
you until after a period of two weeks has passed after the funeral
has taken place. You can initiate the purchase of a memorial
if you choose to do so.
I recommend that you use this time to talk with family members.
Discuss what you would like your family memorial to be. Then,
when you are ready and only when you are ready should you contact
your local memorial dealer. Compare prices and compare quality
of material and workmanship with the memorial dealer and the
cemetery. Everyone purchases their bronze memorials from a handful
of foundries throughout the nation. The quality is the same.
Certain foundries have designs which are different than others.
However, the quality of the bronze itself is the same. If anyone
tells you that someone else is using inferior bronze you should
in fact become suspicious of them because that it not the case.
Ask questions and ask to talk to some of their satisfied customers.
If you have any concerns feel free to call me.
Grave Openings
Less than 10 years ago grave openings averaged
about $400.00. Today many cemeteries charge approximately $1,000.00
or more simply to open and close one grave. In your area there
might be a company that specializes in opening and closing graves.
You actually do have the right to have a third party company
perform the opening and closing for you. As time goes on I believe
that more and more companies will be formed to provide this service
for families, simply because the cost has sky-rocketed. The rising
cost of grave openings is not because of rising labor costs.
This is a trend which was started more than ten years ago by
corporately owned cemeteries.
When you inquire about the possible purchase of lots in any cemetery
one of your questions should be how much they charge to open
and close a gravesite and what does that charge include. Ask
if there are any additional charges involved such as permits
and or document fees. If there are the cemetery must disclose
those prices to you. Consider the cost of the lots and the cost
to open and close the grave site. Compare these costs with other
cemeteries. Make decisions based upon this information.
At some point in time you may be approached by a cemeterian to
pre-pay for opening and closing of all of your grave sites. They
may offer discounts for such pre-payment. I recommend that you
not prepay any of these openings. This issue is discussed further
in the section about pre-need planning. Be sure to go to the
pre-need planning section of this document in order to find out
exactly why it is not a good idea to pre-pay.
Most cemeteries will require that payment for the opening and
closing be made before the opening actually takes place. This
is standard operating procedure. Discuss this with your funeral
director. Many funeral directors will handle this for you and
will include it in their bill to you. This is recommended if
the funeral home offers this service. If they do not, you will
have to make arrangements for the payment. I recommend that you
designate a trusted family member or friend to handle this for
you. Invariably, when you go to the cemetery to make payment,
they are prepared to deliver a sales pitch to try to get you
to buy other graves, grave opeings, caskets, vaults, memorials
and the like. In Maryland they are not allowed to do so. However,
my experience is that such sales pitches are still occurring.
Protect yourself by sending someone to represent you. The only
reason to go to the cemetery is to pay for the opening and if
need be to verify the site to be opened. If the cemetery presents
any problem, tell them that you will contact the Cemetery Oversight
Committee. This will usually get them to change their tune.
Your Perpetual Care Rights
In the state of Maryland all cemeteries are required
to escrow 10% of the sale of all cemetery lots in a perpetual
care fund. The fund is to be used for upkeep and maintenance
of the cemetery and its roads. In general, you will find that
the only service provided by the cemetery after a burial is the
cutting of the grass. They are required to maintain the gravesites
and to level them as needed. An inspection of the cemetery grounds
will give you a very good idea as to the perpetual care services
provided by your cemetery. In many cases cemeteries will not
provide some needed services unless they are requested.
Many cemeteries will lead you to believe that you will lose perpetual
care rights if you do not buy a memorial from them. This is absolutely
not true. You have the same perpetual care rights regardless
of whether you decide to purchase your memorial form the cemetery
or from a memorial dealer. When you inquire about the purchase
of a lot ask the cemetery what their policy is. If they insist
that you will lose perpetual care rights then you should wish
them good day and you should find another cemetery. If you already
have purchased your lots call us at Standiford & Son and
we will advise you. Rest assured that you have the same perpetual
care rights regardless of your decision about the purchase of
a memorial. No such tie-in arrangement is allowed by law. If
you have any questions and/or concerns please call us.
Cremation
Cremation is just as popular today as it was
20 years ago. In some areas it has grown in popularity and in
other areas the popularity of cremation has diminished. This
is a personal decision which must be made by the family. Cremation
can be handled by most funeral homes. There are some funeral
companies which specialize in cremations only. Check with them
and find out exactly what their services are and what to expect.
The funeral director will provide information as to what you
can do with the cremated remains. You can have cremated remains
placed in a grave site in your cemetery. If you choose to do
this beware that your cemetery may treat this the same as a regular
burial and they may charge the same hefty fees for opening the
grave site. You can have cremated remains placed in a cremation
urn for safe keeping at home. You can also have the cremated
remains spread over a site as determined by your family. Before
you spread cremated remains check with your funeral director
or a memorial dealer to be sure that you follow local laws. There
are some laws in many areas which govern the spreading of ashes.
Make sure that you know what they are before you spread the ashes.
Cremated remains can also be placed in special cremorials which
are memorials made for the purpose of holding ashes. Call us
if you need further information.
Cemetery Funeral Homes
Corporate America has as one of their goals to
place a funeral home in many of their cemeteries. The concept
was started so that families could have the convenience of having
the funeral and burial in the same location. Many of their advertisements
lead consumers to believe that they can save money by using the
services of a funeral home in the cemetery. Unfortunately for
consumers, this has not been the case. On the contrary, studies
have shown the cost to consumers to be much higher.
My experience tells me the very same thing. Therefore, I do not
recommend funeral homes which are corporately owned, whether
they be in the cemetery or out of the cemetery. Many funeral
homes have been purchased by corporate America with the provision
that the previous owner remain to operate the home. This gives
the illusion that the funeral home is the same as it was. However,
although the personal service may be there, the pricing is not.
These funeral homes are just too expensive. An average funeral
might cost between $8,000.00 and $10,000.00. The same funeral
in a privately operated funeral home could be obtained for less
than $5,000.00
In the state of Maryland pre-need arrangements are treated differently
depending on whether you are making the arrangements with a cemetery
or a funeral home. I recommend that no pre-need arrangements
be made with a funeral home within a cemetery because they might
not be required to escrow 100% of your funds. Funeral homes in
Maryland are required to escrow 100% of all funds. Cemeteries
are not. You are not protected to the fullest extent by making
these arrangements with a cemetery.
Pre-Need Arrangements
It is a very good and wise decision to make pre-need
arrangements. It makes your life much easier when the time comes
to bury a family member. It also takes the burden off of other
family members when decisions are made in advance after careful
planning. I strongly recommend that you consider pre-need planning.
However, there are some important considerations.
The most important consideration is with whom you should make
pre-need arrangements. If your funeral home is owned and operated
by a local family, you can be safe by making pre-need arrangements
with them. According to Maryland law they must escrow 100% of
your funds which means that your investment is well-protected.
When you make the arrangements with them be sure to find out
where the escrow account will be held and be sure to follow up
to get documents to prove that the escrow account has been set
up. As long as you follow up and receive proper documentation,
your pre-need arrangements will be fine.
If you live in an area where all funeral homes are owned by corporate
America, you can still make pre-need arrangements. I recommend
that you create your own escrow account with specific provisions
as to how the money is to be spent. You must designate proper
family members or a friend to act as your representative. Your
bank can assist you in setting up the escrow account. Your attorney
can help as well. This will allow you to set aside the funds
to handle the costs of the burial in a safe manner. You will
not have to worry about losing your funds because some corporate
structure is experiencing financial difficulties.
In the state of Maryland cemeteries do not have to escrow 100%
of pre-need funds. They can actually use some of the funds for
operating costs. This is not in your best interests. This one
fact alone should be enough to convince you not to make any pre-need
arrangements with your cemetery.
If you live outside the state of Maryland, I would advise you
to check with your local government and state government to verify
the laws as they apply to pre-need arrangements.
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