Regulations
Earlier this week I was informed by a Funeral Director Daily reader that online price lists have started to appear on the websites of Service Corporation International (SCI) funeral homes. Just to be clear, I’m not sure that this is news or not — because I’ve never taken the time to check out individual SCI…
Read MoreNovember 11th brings back memories in many countries. It’s not just Veteran’s Day in America. . . it is a day of remembrance all over Europe. Originally referred to as Armistice Day (Armistice, in Latin, means to “stand arms”). It was at 11 am on November 11 (11/11) in 1918 that an agreement was reached…
Read MoreWe’ve all talked about it and see it out in the profession — a lack of trained and licensed funeral directors to combat the coming years when America faces a wave of Baby Boomer deaths. Without the influx of new professionals, many funeral homes will be understaffed which can lead to a vicious cycle of…
Read MoreI’ve worked almost my entire career under the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) “Funeral Rule”. The rule, for all practical purposes, required me to introduce “price” into the conversation whenever someone either called the funeral home or walked into the funeral home and asked about funeral, cremation, or memorial services. It also required me to hand…
Read MoreI’m penning this article on Wednesday, one day before it is published while I have the memories of the National Funeral Directors Association International Expo fresh in my memory. I spent Saturday through Tuesday afternoon at the convention in Baltimore, Maryland, leaving Tuesday evening and arriving home late on that same evening. In today’s edition…
Read MoreIt’s been a long time since I’ve attended a National Funeral Directors Association national convention. But, tomorrow I’m heading off to Baltimore, Maryland, for the 2022 edition of the NFDA convention. I did not attend the NFDA Annual Convention during my funeral directing years very often. I’ve always enjoyed the ones that I’ve went to…
Read MoreLast week a jury in Maine deliberated and found a verdict against a Lewistown, Maine, funeral home and its owner. Here’s what the website CentralMaine.com said of the deliberations, “A jury awarded Marielle Bischoff-Wurstle, 34, of Falmouth, $5.5 million Friday as compensation for significant emotional damage suffered because her father’s body was left to decompose…
Read More