Funeral Homes and Caskets
Planning a funeral, whether it’s in advance or at the last minute, is an emotional, painful and sometimes expensive process. ImperialCaskets.net offers an independent casket purchase that could save a lot of money. Our site is also filled with helpful information and tips about buying caskets and planning a funeral in general.
Unfortunately, funeral homes are largely corporate entities with bottom-lines and have gained a reputation for costing the bereaved thousands of needless dollars on funeral expenses. Protections vary widely from state to state, and some state laws offer little or no effective protection against these reprehensible practices.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) authored The Funeral Rule to try to limit some of the ways in which funeral homes would exploit the bereaved. The mere fact that our site exists is, in part, because of The Funeral Rule.
The FTC has extensive resources for navigating the morose time that takes place after a death in the family. First and foremost the FTC warns that the amount of money spent on any one funeral is not a reflection of their feelings for the deceased, as some might think. The advantages to planning in advance include paying in advance and having the time and rationality to consider all the options.
The Funeral Rule states:
• The consumer has the right to choose the funeral goods and service and the funeral provider must state this right in writing on the general price list.
• The funeral provider must disclose on the price list, a reference to the specific law state or local law that requires you to buy any particular item.
• The funeral provider may not refuse, or charge a fee to handle, a casket you bought elsewhere.
• For cremations, alternative containers must be made available by the funeral provider.
• Funeral providers who offer direct cremations also must offer to provide an alternative container that can be used in place of a casket.Many people don’t realize that they are not legally required to use a funeral home to plan and conduct a funeral, but find it a comfort in the emotional, disorienting times of dealing with death.
Funeral homes require embalming if you’re planning a viewing or visitation. But embalming generally is not necessary or legally required if the body is buried or cremated shortly after death. Eliminating this service saves hundreds of dollars.
Under the Funeral Rule, a funeral provider:
• Cannot embalm without permission.
• Cannot falsely claim that that embalming is required by law.
• Is required to disclose in writing that embalming is not required by law, except in certain special cases.
• Is not allowed to charge a fee for unauthorized embalming unless embalming is required by state law.
• Is required to disclose in writing that you usually have the right to choose a disposition that does not require embalming, such as direct cremation, immediate burial, etc.
• Is required to disclose in writing that funeral arrangements, such as a funeral with viewing, may make embalming a practical necessity and, if so, a required purchase.Caskets vary widely in style and price. Caskets are usually constructed of metal, wood, fiberboard, fiberglass or plastic.
You can buy a casket as part of a funeral home package. It will probably be marked up in price. Or you can buy a casket from an online or independent dealer and have it shipped directly to the funeral home. If this suits you, the Funeral Rule requires funeral homes to use a casket bought elsewhere, and doesn’t allow them to charge you a fee for that.No matter where or under what circumstances you’re buying a casket, remember its purpose is to provide a dignified way to move the body before burial or cremation. And no casket, regardless of its qualities or cost, will preserve a body forever. Metal caskets described as “gasketed,” “protective” or “sealer” means the casket has a rubber gasket or some other feature designed to prevent rust and delay penetration of water into the casket. The Funeral Rule specifically forbids claims that these features preserve the remains indefinitely because they don’t. They only add to the cost of a casket.
Caskets
and Funeral Homes
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