Funeral Home Rule

Nothing can prepare a family for an unexpected death. The toll it takes has devastating emotional consequences. To make matters worse, there are practical problems that often arise. The deceased may have incurred large medical bills before they died. The death requires a burial which can cost the surviving family members more than expected. Also, if the deceased provided income for the family, the struggle to keep their lives going can be almost impossible. When the death was caused by an act of negligence, there are terms for the surviving family members to bring forward a wrongful death claim.

According to an essay written by Jessica Mitford titled “Embalming in the U.S.A” states that the mass population in the United States have lost interest of embalming over the years. She later proves this by saying “not one in ten thousand has any idea what actually takes place and books on the subject are extremely rare to come by”. She later goes on saying that America has made a complete reversal on how the treated the Embalming. In the old days of America it was mandatory for one of the family members of the deceased to stay with the mortician while he carried on his business. Now in these the majority of people cannot stand the sight of blood. As the essay continues Jessica later states how She under stands

The article, “10 Burdens Funeral Directors Carry”, written by Caleb Wilde expresses the unique struggles of those working the funeral business. They face numerous challenges through trying to aid and support those mourning a loved one. This often over looked and underappreciated field offers a salient as well as specific service desperately needed by each community. By encountering: depression, psychosis, isolation, stress, workaholism and death itself funeral directors make numerous personal sacrifices to continue to provide honor and respect to the dead.

Being a funeral director takes having a strong stomach and skill dealing with grief. There are many different ways people mourn. Religions have different rites as well as celebration of someone’s life. Every culture and civilization has three common threads dealing with death and their final internment. There are three main steps when someone dies. First is the preparation of the body, then some type of ceremony, and finally internment.

Criticisms of American funeral practices have been made publicly aware since the 1920’s, and actually go back to ancient times in the scope of human’s ceremonies for the dead. Since the first published argument against modern funerals various authors joined the movement publishing their disparagements of customs for the deceased; that in essence contend the grandiosity and lavish displays are merely a social and psychological representation of the monetary opportunity of funerals (DeSpelder & Strickland, 2015, p. 306-307). Even further, regarding the encompassing funeral industry as exploiting grieving loved ones for their financial gains, while disregarding the actual needs of modern society (DeSpelder & Strickland, 2015, p. 307).

This is not an attractive industry but it’s a needed industry. Death is inevitable and we all will need this service one day. However, because of the cremation and cheaper alternatives the operating margins are decreasing for funeral homes. People want to celebrate the lives of loved ones in a unique way and they don’t need to spend $10,000 to do

We, as humans, often get involved only with the issues that affect us or our environment. Furthermore, sometimes we do not see what is happening around us that affects the rest of the society. The article “Drugs are killing so many people in West Virginia that the state can’t keep up with the funerals” by Christopher Ingraham discusses the fact that in West Virginia, the amount of deaths caused (mostly) by overdose has increased so much in recent years that their indigent burial program has ran out of funds to cover funerals for people that do not have the funds to pay for

Ask Questions: Don’t be afraid to ask the funeral director as many questions as you need to make you feel at ease. Feel free to bring a list to your meeting if that helps you gather your thoughts. Most are also readily available by phone to answer additional questions.

Literature review was not extensive for the purposes of this project, but future research may shape the results of this study. An important limitation to consider is that the financial aspect was not researched in depth. It was undetermined how much of the funeral cost would be covered by my life insurance policy, and prices I received from the funeral directors and former pastor were only general estimates. Some funeral expenses were likely not accounted for because of the brevity of the interviews. Another factor to consider is that the interview with my family members was conducted in a single group sitting. Individuals may not have felt comfortable expressing their opinions amongst the group, and group think may have played a role in the answers received. Wishes for my funeral services may also change with the course of time, and some aspects of the funeral may have been forgotten in the initial interview process. Private interviews should be conducted in the future, and the dialogue about death should be ongoing to account for these

Funerals, like all industries, are changing with the times. The fact that funerals can be referred to as an industry shows just how much they have changed. At one time a funeral was a ritual that offered support to a community by allowing them to fall back on beliefs. Funerals now are less impactful. A funeral today is deritualized and rationalized. They are more of an obligation than a ritual for support.

In the late 1960’s, the FTC was a paper tiger. Ralph Nader, who began the consumer protection movement in this country with the publication of Unsafe At Any Speed, was a sharp critic of the Federal Trade Commission for its lack of consumer protection. Specifically, the FTC was criticized because it relied too heavily on consumer complaints and brought enforcement actions only on a case-by-case basis. The consumer protection movement wanted the FTC to proceed against entire industries rather than individual businesses.

In pursuing this further, there are several aspects to this topic; such as, preplanning, financial planning, cost, and the surviving family members. Funeral planning is something we all will have to do at one point in our lives, but where should we begin? It is a good idea to start with the preplanning of the funeral. Preplanning is crucial; it provides piece of mind, especially for surviving family. As said earlier, discussing one 's mortality is an extremely uncomfortable topic; however, by preplanning a funeral, it will relieve the family of having to make important decisions during a period of immense stress and grief. Furthermore, preplanning gives time to explore the options for a ceremony and allows time to discuss the financial aspects. It also gives a chance to choose a funeral home that best suit ones needs and budget.

Mankind’s history of burial practices and funeral customs are as old as civilization itself. There is no specific way to planning a funeral. Every civilization and culture has provided for their dead in different ways. Religion and personal beliefs play an important role in the burial practices and funeral customs of a given culture or civilization. Furthermore, each civilization and cultured ever studied have three things in common: some type of funeral rites, rituals, and ceremonies; A sacred place for the dead; and memorialization of the dead. As far back as the time of Christ, burials have been noted to take place. In time burial and funeral customs have become very distinct, interesting and

     Because of the increasing education of the consumer, many may choose to bypass the funeral home as a way of lowering costs.

In Letter to a Funeral Parlor we read a letter written to a sir from someone who does not sign their last name. They only close the letter with yours sincerely. This paper will cover: the the content of the story, the argument of the narrator, as well what it reveals about the narrator and her family's grief. advantages of framing the story in this manner.