Regulation of the Funeral Services Industry: A Legal Research Guide

For most of human history, the preparation of the dead for disposition was a responsibility primarily discharged by families, friends, and religious organizations. This largely philanthropic activity turned almost completely commercial in the first decades of the 20th century, due in large part to increased urbanization and mobility. In the United States today, the disposition of human remains is mostly delegated to the for-profit deathcare industry. This book focuses on the regulation of providers of services related to the preparation of human remains for final disposition and coordination of memorialization and disposition, which is referred to as the funeral services industry; to distinguish it from the broader deathcare industry. Participants in this are typically referred to as funeral directors, undertakers, morticians, and embalmers who do business in funeral homes. The funeral services industry is highly regulated, primarily by state occupational licensing statutes and the Federal Trade Commission's Funeral Rule. Statutes related to the licensure of crematories and crematory operators, and statutes regulating the sale of pre-need funeral goods and services are closely related to the occupational licensing regime for the funeral services industry and are therefore covered in this book. It also provides contact information state funeral boards which have a wealth of material pertinent to the industry in each state, along with a bibliography of secondary sources which are divided into topics such as historical, legal, religion, advice to consumers, cremation, funeral homes (and zoning), and funeral reform. This is a very complex area of the law and unfamiliar to most attorneys. This guide is intended to help attorneys and others quickly find the relevant law for litigation and transactional matters involving the industry, and to provide background reading and other sources to give context.