Arkansas cremation and prepaid funeral rights

Under the rules of Arkansas’s State Board of Embalmers, Funeral Directors, Cemeteries, and Burial Services, a crematory is an agent of a funeral establishment and does not make arrangements with the public, so a cremation is arranged through a funeral home. A crematory may not cremate until it has received a cremation authorization form signed by an authorizing agent that identifies the funeral director arranging the cremation, along with a burial transit permit or other disposition authorization and a death certificate or similar authorization. The form must name the person authorized to claim the remains from the crematory. Ask the funeral home for a copy of the signed authorization form. [1][2]

If remains that have not been embalmed cannot be cremated right away, they may be held no longer than 24 hours unless they are in a refrigerated facility. Cremating more than one person in the same chamber at the same time is forbidden unless the crematory has specific written authorization from all the authorizing agents. Ask where the body will be held and when the cremation is scheduled. [3]

The authorizing agent must give the person making the cremation arrangements a signed statement saying what will happen to the cremated remains. If 90 days after the cremation the authorizing agent or their representative has not specified the final disposition or claimed the remains, the person holding them may dispose of them in any manner permitted by law, and the authorizing agent must repay reasonable expenses. Remains may be scattered on private property only with the property owner’s written consent. Decide who will collect the remains, and when, before you sign. [4]

Arkansas lets a purchaser cancel a prepaid funeral contract, or transfer it to a substitute provider, at any time before the seller performs it, whether the contract is revocable or irrevocable and however it is funded. For a revocable contract funded by cash or a trust, cancelling before the death of the person the contract is for entitles the purchaser to a refund of not less than 100 percent of all sums paid to the seller, not to exceed the contract price. For a revocable contract funded by life insurance, the purchaser can receive not less than 100 percent of the policy’s cash surrender value, not to exceed the premium paid. An irrevocable contract carries no refund, but the purchaser can move it to a substitute provider, and the seller must transfer not less than 100 percent of the amount paid, not to exceed the contract price. Check whether your contract is revocable or irrevocable before you sign. [7][6]

To cancel or transfer, the purchaser gives the seller the purchaser’s request form adopted in the state’s rules, Form AID-FI-C3. For a contract funded by cash, the seller must complete the cancellation or transfer within 40 days of receiving the form. For a contract funded by life insurance or an annuity, the seller must send the insurer its own form within 20 days, and the insurer then has 30 days to complete it. The seller may not require you to sign any other releases, notices or agreements of its own, and neither the seller nor the insurer may charge a fee for cancelling or transferring unless the prepaid funeral law provides for one. These time limits do not count delays caused by someone outside the seller’s or insurer’s control. Keep a dated copy of everything you send. [5][6]

The seller must give the purchaser a copy of the contract within 15 days of signing, and the contract must say whether it is funded by insurance, an annuity or trust funds. A trust-funded contract must state that 100 percent of the contract proceeds will be deposited into the trust and name the trustee or financial institution receiving the deposit. Every contract must also say that complaints can be made to the State Insurance Department’s Pre-Paid Funeral Section. Ask for your copy and keep it with your important papers. [6]