Massachusetts funeral statement, cremation timing and advance-payment rights

Massachusetts requires a licensed funeral director to give the person making arrangements a written itemized statement, at the time arrangements are completed or before the service. It shows, as far as then known, the price of the merchandise and services selected, any supplemental items, and the estimated amount of each item the funeral home will pay on your behalf. Each copy is signed by the funeral director and by the person making the arrangements. Ask for your signed copy before the service. [1]

An item billed as a “cash advanced” item may be billed only if the net amount the funeral director paid for it is the same amount billed to the funeral director. Ask which charges on your statement are cash advances and who the outside supplier is. [1]

In Massachusetts, a body may not be cremated within 48 hours after death unless the person died of a contagious or infectious disease. When the death occurred in Massachusetts, the crematory must first receive the burial permit and a certificate from a medical examiner, or similarly authorized person, who has viewed the body and inquired into the cause and manner of death. Ask the funeral home when the medical examiner’s view is expected and what that means for the date of the cremation. [2]

The Board of Registration in Embalming and Funeral Directing’s pre-need rules apply in full to contracts established on or after July 27, 2017. Money to fund the contract must be made payable directly to a bank or an insurance company; a check made out to the funeral home must be endorsed and sent to the bank or insurer within one business day. The funeral home may not use pre-need funds for personal use, operating expenses, loans or any other purpose. Ask who will hold your money and for the signed written confirmation from the bank or insurer that it was deposited or used to buy the policy. [3][5][7]

Any buyer may cancel within ten days after signing and receive a full refund of all money paid connected with the contract, without penalty. If a government-benefits application by the buyer or beneficiary is pending, the buyer may waive that ten-day right, but only by signing a written waiver; the waiver does not affect the right to transfer the contract. Ask whether any waiver is included before you sign. [4]

After the ten days, a contract that was revocable when it was made can be cancelled by written notice sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the funeral home. For a trust-funded contract, the funeral home must forward the notice to the trustee and take all steps necessary so that all funds in the trust account are refunded to the buyer, without penalty, within ten days after the trustee receives the notice. The funeral home may not impose any surcharge, fee or other penalty for cancelling. Keep your return receipt and ask when the notice was forwarded to the trustee. [4]

A contract that was irrevocable when it was made cannot be cancelled by either party except by court order, although it may be transferred to another licensed funeral establishment. If the contract is funded by insurance, the funeral home’s agent must disclose that a refund on cancelling the policy before death is determined by the policy’s cash surrender value provisions. Ask whether your contract is revocable or irrevocable, and ask for the current cash surrender value before you decide. [4][6]