The Vulnerable Funeral Consumer

A funeral is not a typical commercial transaction.  It is fraught with complicating factors that

make the funeral consumer, especially the consumer purchasing at the time of death “uniquely

vulnerable.”

• The need to make decisions. The responsible person must make important decisions on matters that may be unfamiliar and confusing.  Doing so is stressful and may even seem overwhelming.
• The pressure of time.  A person has died; the remains must be cared for and disposed of in a reasonable time.  Decisions must be made quickly.
• Intense emotion.  Loss and grief are intense emotions in and of themselves, and death may surface family tensions long suppressed.  Such conditions make calm, reasonable decision-making difficult.  The family may have never discussed how to deal with death because of social taboos surrounding the subject.
• Ignorance of funeral options and rights.  Because of those taboos, most people have made scant effort to learn about funeral matters, and the funeral industry does little to educate them.  In fact, the federal government, as we have seen from the accompanying article on the Funeral Rule, has had to issue regulations requiring funeral homes to make certain disclosures.  Those regulations, while useful, are still limited in scope.  For example, funeral homes are not required to mail copies of their GPLs on request, and there is no requirement that funeral homes post prices on their websites, even though most establishments have them.  The industry still is rather secretive about its operations.

​Faced with unfamiliar responsibilities, burdened by emotion, and pressed for time, most

consumers readily allow funeral directors to control the planning process, even though they

have a pecuniary interest in the outcome. The imbalance of power in such a transaction is an

invitation to abuse, so it is not surprising that many consumers, once their emotions have

​subsided, feeling that they paid too much.

The Funeral Rule Protects You

For decades the funeral industry was completely unregulated, and, as you might expect in such

a situation, customers were frequently misled, overcharged, and sold unnecessary services.  In

1963 Jessica Mitford published The American Way of Death, exposing the abuses of the

industry. Publication fueled a vigorous campaign to protect consumers, one expression of which

was the founding of the Funeral Consumers Alliance the following year.  Twenty years later, in

1984, the Federal Trade Commission, at last, issued a set of regulations called the Funeral Rule

to clean up the industry and standardize practices. The current rule embodies revisions made in

1994. It requires funeral homes to provide certain information to you, the consumer and gives

you specific rights.  Before shopping for funeral goods and services, you should be aware of the

rule’s basic provisions. The Funeral Rule (henceforth FR) requires the funeral home to compile a

General Price List (GPL), which must bear that title, be printed or typewritten, show the

business’s name, address, and telephone number, and state the list’s effective date.

Funeral homes are required to make six disclosures on the GPL.

• The right of selection.  You have the right to select only the goods and services you want,

except for a non-declinable fee for basic services.  The rule states the specific language

guaranteeing that right that should appear on the GPL.  You are not required to purchase a

package deal,” which may include items you do not want.

• Embalming is not required by law.  The funeral home must state this directly.  However, the

funeral home is allowed to say that “embalming may be necessary…if you select certain funeral

arrangements, such as a funeral with viewing.”  This disclosure must be placed “in immediate

conjunction” with the stated price for embalming.  And the FR says that you, the consumer,

must give express approval before the funeral home is allowed to embalm a body.

• Alternative containers may be used.  You are allowed to use an alternative container for

cremations, which may be made of wood, cardboard, fiberboard, or similar materials.  On its

GPL the funeral home must state what its containers are made from.

• What the basic services fee covers.  If you use a funeral home, you must pay for basic services,

which covers the funeral home’s administrative costs and overhead.  The funeral home must

specifically, let you know what this fee covers.  Note that a pro-rated amount for basic services

is included in prices for direct cremations, immediate burials, and forwarding or receiving

remains.

• A casket price list is available.  The funeral home may list casket prices on its GPL or it may

use a separate price list.  If the business uses a separate list, its GPL must state the price range

(lowest to highest) of the caskets it sells.  The casket price list must contain the same identifying

information for the business that is required on the GPL and must provide enough description to

enable you to identify each casket in the showroom.  The FR requires the funeral home to offer

you a casket price list to review before showing you the merchandise.

• An outer burial container price list is available.  This disclosure relates to vaults and grave

liners, which surround the casket in the ground to prevent the grave from sinking in if the

casket deteriorates. Requirements are similar to those for the casket price list. The FTC also

requires funeral homes to state that law does not require outer burial containers but that

cemeteries may require them in the interest of grounds maintenance. Another way the FR

protects you by prohibiting funeral homes from giving you false or misleading information. 

Examples are:

• Saying that you are required to buy a casket from the funeral home.  You can buy a casket

from a third-party seller, and the funeral home cannot charge you a “handling” fee or require

you are to be present at the funeral home when the casket is delivered.

• Saying that embalming will preserve a body indefinitely.  That is not true.  Embalming

temporarily delays decomposition so that the body may be viewed prior to burial.  Nothing more

should be claimed.

• Saying that a casket or vault will protect the body from decomposition or damage by

substances such as water or soil.

• Concealing fees that are added to cash advance items, which are goods purchased through

the funeral home from third-party sellers such as florists, printers, and musicians.  Funeral

homes may add such charges but must disclose them.  If their charge for direct cremation does

not include the crematory fee, they must declare that the fee is extra.

The FR requires funeral homes to give you prices and other information about their services over

the telephone and they cannot ask for your name, address, and phone number prior to giving

them to you. 

They can ask you to identify yourself, but even if you refuse, they must give you the

information. They cannot require you to come to the funeral home to receive information.


On the other hand, if you do show up at the funeral home, the staff is required to give you a

copy of the GPL to take with you. This is true whether or not you are planning a funeral at the

time. This part of the rule is to make it easier for you to do comparative shopping and

planning.  We at FCASC strongly recommend that you visit any funeral home you are

considering.

Unfortunately, there is no equivalent of the FR regulating cemeteries, casket makers, monument

companies and the like.  When dealing with them, it is wise to be cautious.  Being aware of the

FR will at ​least put you in the proper frame of mind to approach these purchases.