Funerals have become big business and corporate managers are working hard to squeeze out every last dollar. One of the most profitable and apparently compassionate products they've developed is the “pre-need” funeral package – basically, the prepaid funeral.
Industry-wide Abuse and Government Regulation
Salespeople tout these plans as wonderfully beneficial, but in the past few of decades, horror stories abounded. The families of deceased purchasers of prepaid funerals would be surprised by invoices for items not covered by the pre-need contract – things like the services of a funeral director, a substitute casket, or even the cost of opening and closing the grave itself and actually burying the remains.
Many states responded with more or less consumer-friendly legislation, and today there's a much higher degree of regulation over the industry. In some states, for instance, funds used for prepaid funerals must be placed into a trust under the consumer's control. Many states also require funeral directors to advise purchasers of all the services and equipment their prepaid funeral contract will not cover.
