Complying with The Funeral Rule | Federal Trade Commission
1 2018-05-07T21:01:25+00:00 Shad Thielman c6912014665d271d067fc524cd146d5dcff73ffc 4 1 The Funeral Rule gives people making funeral arrangements some important rights. And it establishes some basic requirements for funeral homes. If you sell funeral goods and services, you'll... plain 2018-05-07T21:01:25+00:00 Shad Thielman c6912014665d271d067fc524cd146d5dcff73ffcThis page is referenced by:
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"Funeral Rule"
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Ratified in 1984, the FTC’s “Funeral Rule” was meant to protect the consumer from funeral providers. Amendments to the FTC “Funeral Rule” of 1994 outlawed funeral establishments from requiring the purchase of funerary items such as caskets from them.[1] In doing so, the FTC made it illegal for funeral homes to refuse acceptance of funeral accouterments acquired by the bereaved from third-party vendors such as storefront proprietors of items such as caskets, urns, and keepsakes. While it has done much to do so, certain aspects of the law such as the non-declinable service fee (presently $2000.00) mainly benefit the service providers. Additionally, this indicates the broad range, immense power, and extreme lobbying in Washington on behalf of the funeral industry.
As current trends continue to shape the industry, one thing remains clear, the industry itself will adapt as it has for the last one hundred years. Philippe Aries states “modern attitudes towards death remain aligned with American traditions such as the interdiction of death in preserving the happiness of the living.”[2] As Laderman reminds us, the funeral industry transforms with the cultural and social changes that take place over time. Also, Funeral Directors see themselves as providing a service to those in need at a time when many are incapable of taking on such a monumental task such as the burial and service of a loved one. It is apparent that the institution itself will continue to innovate and adapt as needed to perform their tasks for the bereaved. In a world where many things are uncertain, death remains uncannily so. Although the sales methods, accouterments, ownership, and scale for service may change, historical accounts of the last one hundred years suggest that fundamentally things will remain much the same. The practice of Funeral Directors and their traditions of supporting the bereaved will continue to focus on the social, religious, and psychological aspects of the living.
