Here are the guidelines of the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA) to voluntarily foster professional standards of care. ICCFA Cremation Guidelines Statement of Purpose The following Cremation Guidelines have been published by the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association to voluntarily foster professional standards of care and consideration by our members. Definitions Authorizing agent(s):…
The FTC Funeral Rule went into effect April 30, 1934. The rule was revised in early 1994. Who must comply with the rule? All “funeral providers” must comply with the Rule. You are a funeral provider if you sell or offer to sell both funeral goods and funeral services to the public. Funeral goods are…
REVOSE, Pa., Feb. 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — StoneMor Partners L.P. (NYSE:STON) (“StoneMor” or the “Partnership”) today provided additional data on the ongoing restructuring of its sales force. Total salespeople within the salesforce at January 31, 2017 numbered 766, which was 81 more than the prior year comparable period. The salesperson count at January 31,…
Hillenbrand announced earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2017 (three months ended December 31, 2017). The company’s Batesville casket business had a 2% decline in revenue and a 3% decline in EBIDTA (earnings before interest depreciation and amortization). You can download the earnings slides here. You can read the Seeking Alpha earnings call…
Alva Review Courier reports that there is a shortage of funeral directors in Oklahoma. 36,000 people die annually and the number of licensed funeral directors, embalmers, student apprentices and funeral homes have declined. The Director of the State’s funeral board wants to streamline the process of certifying funeral directors. The Lacrosse Tribune says that dogs…
BUSINESS
Death Care Out-of-the-Box: The Epilogue
I tried something different last week and had a five-part series on how “Out-of-the-Box” thinking may change Death Care. The series of articles was well recieved and, from feedback I recieved, seemed to…
A 4th possible death care evolution: More government payments
When I look at the long-term trends of democratic countries — countries that I define by having free and fair elections for leaders — I see historical movement towards more “socially economic” values. For…
Who might be our future competition?
Smart companies look for “Line Extention” to help them grow. I learned a little about “Line Extension” in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s when I served on a Board of Wells Fargo. …
FINANCE
Funeral Home acquisitions: Why not royalties as part of the consideration?
The negotiations to sell and or purchase a funeral home generally involve “what one is buying and how are they paying for it”. It’s pretty common to hear the terms “asset sale”, “real estate”,…
Outside the Box: 4 Things I think will eventually come to Death Care
Over my lifetime some things have just stuck with me. A couple of those things are quotes that share a message of complicated projects or ideas that might seem insurmountable but also give…
Park Lawn adds Colorado locations, completes leadership transformation
In this very brief press release issued out of Toronto, Ontario, last weekend funeral home and cemetery operator Park Lawn Corporation announced that they had acquired two free-standing funeral homes in Colorado’s Western…
REGULATIONS
Consumer group calls for “cutting out the funeral director as middleman” on direct cremations
We noticed in this article last week that a consumer group has asked for the removal of funeral directors as “the middleman in cremations, saying it’s costing people money”. Among other things, the…
A 4th possible death care evolution: More government payments
When I look at the long-term trends of democratic countries — countries that I define by having free and fair elections for leaders — I see historical movement towards more “socially economic” values. For…
A four-day work week for funeral service professionals?
If you have been involved in leadership for any length of time you will find that any decision that you make, even if you think it is the greatest decision in the…
CEMETERY
Memorial Day 2025 — May God Bless their memories
I bring you this Memorial Day thought and tell you that it is a slight reprise from an Easter message of thanks that Funeral Director Daily produced during the days of the pandemic lock…
What’s one to do?
Recently a lawsuit was filed in New Jersey contending a New Jersey township used discrimination in deciding against a Jewish group that planned to establish a Jewish cemetery in the community. You can read…
Are Reinforced Soil Systems the future for cemetery safety and profits?
Geogrid Reinforced Soil Systems (RSS) have long been used by engineers to provide for stability for retaining walls and highway roadways in North America. Now there is a company that has turned that…
CREMATION
Consumer group calls for “cutting out the funeral director as middleman” on direct cremations
We noticed in this article last week that a consumer group has asked for the removal of funeral directors as “the middleman in cremations, saying it’s costing people money”. Among other things, the…
CANA says “rate of cremation increase” is decelerating
The percentage rate of cremation disposition for all deaths in the United States continues to rise, but the Cremation Association of North America (CANA) says in a recent press release that that rate is…
“Death should be inconvenient”
I have a retired Lutheran clergy friend who, when we were both working, was not hesitant to tell families that “Death should be inconvenient”. That sentence usually came during an arrangement conference when families…
PRENEED
“Death should be inconvenient”
I have a retired Lutheran clergy friend who, when we were both working, was not hesitant to tell families that “Death should be inconvenient”. That sentence usually came during an arrangement conference when families…
Raising the retirement age. . . Does it affect Preneed??
Last week the country of Denmark once again set in place an increased age for receiving government sponsored retirement benefits. As you can see in this article those citizens of Denmark born after 1970…
The future of Preneed is looking good
The other day I came across this article from Today’s Will & Probate publication of Great Britain. The title of the article is “Regulation profoundly changing the dynamics of the funeral plan market“.…
PRODUCTS
Who might be our future competition?
Smart companies look for “Line Extention” to help them grow. I learned a little about “Line Extension” in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s when I served on a Board of Wells Fargo. …
It’s “What you Know”
There’s always been an argument about successful businesses. . . Did they get to be successful because of “Who they know” or “What they know”? I’m guessing that both circumstances will help, but in today’s…
“The Mortician” documentary series debuts Sunday on HBO
Here’s what a press release from Warner Brothers/Discovery says about the new series titled “The Mortician” that is scheduled to be premiered on Sunday on HBO: “THE MORTICIAN chronicles a trusted family-owned…
