The Funeral Rule - Applicability
Funeral Providers
The Funeral Rule applies to "funeral providers." A "funeral provider" is a person or entity that sells or offers to sell:
(1) "funeral goods;" and
* The Rule defines "funeral goods" as products sold directly to the public in connection with "funeral services."
(2) "funeral services."
* The Rule defines "funeral services" as:
(a) services used to care for and prepare bodies for burial, cremation, or other final disposition; and
(b) services used to arrange, supervise, or conduct the funeral ceremony or final disposition of human remains.
Under the Rule, a funeral provider is a person or entity that sells or offers to sell funeral goods and both types of funeral services. All funeral providers must comply with the requirements of the Rule, even if they are not licensed funeral directors or funeral homes. Cemeteries, crematories, and other businesses may be funeral providers within the meaning of the Rule if they market both funeral goods and funeral services.
Pre-need Arrangements
The term "pre-need arrangements" refers to situations in which a person's funeral arrangements are planned before the person's death. The Rule applies to pre-need arrangements. A funeral provider must comply with the Rule when the funeral is planned and after the person's death.
A person or entity that does not provide funeral goods or services but sells pre-need contracts on behalf of a funeral home must comply with the Rule because that person or entity is an agent of the funeral home.
The Rule does not apply to pre-need contracts executed before April 30, 1984. However, if such a contract has been modified any time after April 30, 1984, the contract is subject to the Rule.
Copyright 2011 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.
