Montana cremation, cemetery, prearranged funeral and funeral insurance rules

Montana law requires cremation to take place in a licensed crematory and prohibits cremation within 24 hours after the time of death. If the remains are not embalmed, a crematory may not hold them longer than 48 hours after death outside a refrigerated facility. Ask which crematory will perform the cremation and how the body will be kept until then. [1]

The person arranging the cremation must ask the authorizing agent for a signed statement of the intended disposition of the cremated remains, if known. Cremated remains are delivered to the person named on the cremation authorization form, and both that person and a crematory representative sign a receipt. Ask who is named to receive the remains and keep your copy of the receipt. [2]

If 90 days pass after cremation without the authorizing agent specifying a disposition or claiming the cremated remains, the crematory or person holding them becomes responsible for their disposition and may dispose of them in any manner permitted by law. Ask when the remains will be ready, and collect them or give written instructions before that period ends. [2]

Montana’s cemetery law does not apply to cemeteries owned and operated by a church or similar religious organization, a municipality or county, a family burial ground where lots are not offered for sale, or a qualifying community nonprofit association. Other cemetery companies it covers must hold a permit issued by the state board and display it in a conspicuous place at the cemetery. Ask who owns and operates the cemetery and whether it holds a board permit. [3][4]

A covered cemetery company must deposit at least 15% of the gross proceeds of each sale of a lot, grave space, crypt, niche or burial right into its perpetual care and maintenance fund. The fund’s principal must remain intact, and its net income may be used only for the care and maintenance of the cemetery. Ask for the cemetery’s written care plan and what the fund pays for. [5]

In Montana, prearranged funeral or related services may be presented, negotiated and sold to the public only by a licensed mortician. All money paid under a contract for a prearranged funeral or related services must be held in trust for the purposes for which it was furnished, and any interest earned stays in the trust. Ask for a copy of the trust agreement before you pay. [6]

Money paid for a lot, grave space, mausoleum, crypt, niche or burial right is not subject to those trust requirements if title passes to the purchaser at the time of payment. Ask whether you receive title to the burial property when you pay. [6]

The party that receives the money must deposit it within 10 business days in a bank, a savings or building and loan association, or a credit union that maintains an office in Montana. The money goes in a separate account in the depositor’s name as trustee for the person who contracted for the services, and the prudent investor rule applies and may not be waived. Ask for the name of the institution holding your money. [7]

In Montana, funeral insurance, also called burial insurance or preneed funeral insurance, is a type of life insurance and is not money prepaid into a trust. The policy and its sales material must clearly say that it is a life insurance product, that the applicant may designate the beneficiary, including a funeral provider, and that the beneficiary may use the proceeds for any purpose, subject to state law. Ask who the beneficiary is and what happens to money left after the funeral. [8]

Before paying benefits, the insurer must require a certified copy of the death certificate or other satisfactory evidence of death, and a certificate signed by the funeral provider that all contracted goods and services were delivered. After the death of a person who at any time received Medicaid, a beneficiary of funeral insurance worth more than $5,000 must pay the funds remaining after the funeral expenses to the Department of Public Health and Human Services within 30 days of receiving the benefit. Ask how the policy will be handled if Medicaid is involved. [8]