Mississippi cremation, cemetery and preneed funeral rights

A Mississippi funeral establishment or other licensee of the State Board of Funeral Service may not embalm or cremate a body without the prior written or oral consent of the next of kin or the authorizing agent or representative of the deceased, in the order of priority set by state law. If consent is given orally, the establishment or licensee responsible must make a written record of who gave it, their relationship to the deceased, the date and time, and who obtained it. Ask for a copy of the signed consent or the written record of oral consent. [1]

The operator of a crematory must issue a certificate of cremation to the family. Cremated remains may not be divided or separated without the prior written consent of the person entitled to control their disposition, and a written acknowledgment describing the cremation process must be obtained from that person and kept for at least three years. Ask for the certificate of cremation and a copy of the acknowledgment. [2][3]

A crematory or funeral establishment may dispose of cremated remains that the family has not claimed twelve months after cremation, by scattering or burial. Ask when the remains will be ready, how you will collect them, and make sure the funeral home has current contact details for your family. [4]

Mississippi’s perpetual care cemetery law exempts cemeteries affiliated with or owned by churches or religious societies, established fraternal societies, municipalities or other political subdivisions of the state, as well as family cemeteries or family burial grounds, among others. Since July 1, 2009, every new cemetery must be a perpetual care cemetery unless it is exempt. An exemption does not by itself tell you what care a cemetery provides. Ask whether the cemetery is a perpetual care cemetery and for its written care arrangements. [5]

A nonperpetual care cemetery must print the words “this is a nonperpetual care cemetery” at the top of all its sales contracts and deeds. Ask to see the contract and deed before you pay, and look for that statement at the top. [6]

A cemetery covered by the law must pay into an irrevocable perpetual care trust fund the greater of 15% of the sale price or 40 cents per square foot for earth burial rights, the greater of 5% or $50 per crypt in a community or public mausoleum, and the greater of 5% or $10 per niche in a community columbarium. For installment sales, the trusted percentage is calculated on each payment, and the fund’s principal is to remain intact except as the law provides, with its income devoted to the perpetual care of the cemetery. Ask how much of your purchase price goes into the perpetual care fund. [7]

Mississippi’s preneed law covers contracts for funeral services and merchandise, whether funded by trust deposits or insurance, but not the furnishing of a cemetery lot, crypt, niche or mausoleum. Ask the seller which items on your contract fall under the preneed law. [9]

For a trust-funded contract, the seller must place at least 85% of the funds received for funeral services and merchandise in a trust account no later than the fifth day of the month after the funds are received. The contract must show in bold type the percentage the seller must trust and the name, address and phone number of the trust officer and trust institution, and the purchaser initials that paragraph. Ask the seller to point out that paragraph and confirm who the trustee is. [8]

Mississippi preneed contracts are portable. The beneficiary, or someone legally authorized to act for them, may name a substitute provider in writing; for a trust-funded contract, the notice goes to the original seller and the trustee, and for an insurance-funded contract, the change of beneficiary is made in writing to the insurance company. Ask both the seller and the trustee, or the insurer, to confirm in writing that they received your notice. [10]

After a death, a substitute provider that served the family gives the trustee a death certificate or published obituary and an invoice. Within ten days, the trustee must pay at least the amount deposited in trust for that beneficiary, plus all earnings, interest and income for trust-funded contracts sold on or after July 1, 2012. If insurance proceeds are paid to a seller who did not provide the funeral, they must be paid in full to the substitute provider or the beneficiary’s estate within ten days. Ask the seller for the date the contract was sold. [11][10]

A fully funded preneed contract that a person made for their own arrangements overrules the conflicting wishes of their next of kin after death, unless a compelling public interest makes it impossible to follow. Relatives may still, at their own expense, arrange reasonable services that do not conflict with the contract. Ask the person who holds the contract to tell the family where a copy is kept. [12]