The body of our
loved one has been taken for an autopsy.
Will we be required to pay an autopsy fee
or transportation to reclaim the body? Do
we still have to pay for a funeral?
If the
death falls under the jurisdiction of the
medical examiner system and an autopsy is
ordered by the medical examiner or
government agency such police, sheriff, or
a court the cost of the autopsy will be
paid by the state or county. Also, the
state through Office of Chief Medical
Examiner will pay the cost of the
transportation of the body to and from the
autopsy facility. After the autopsy, the
body will be returned to the county where
the death occurred. This can be to a
funeral home of your choosing or in some
cases to the hospital where the death
occurred. Under no circumstances should
you let a funeral home bill you for the
transportation of the body for medical
examiner autopsy or for the autopsy
itself.
You will
still be responsible for funeral costs
incurred after the return of the body. In
rare circumstances when a body is
unclaimed the Office of Chief Medical
Examiner will arrange for cremation and
retain the ashes for three years.
Home funerals -- also known as
family-directed funerals or do-it-yourself
funerals -- are legal in North Carolina as
in most states. The Funeral Consumer
Alliance of the Piedmont is supportive of
the home funeral movement. For additional
information click here
or visit the Undertaken
With Love Project.
There is a local natural at-home death care
education and support group in Greensboro
which is inspired by the national
organization organization Crossings.
For information contact Sandy LaGrega
(336-908-4664) sunsan52@aol.com.
Sandy has ten years experience as a home
death care consultant.
A member of our
family has just died. Can you help us
arrange a home funeral without a funeral
home's involvement?
Although a determined
family theoretically could make last
minute arrangements for a home funeral,
Funeral Consumers Alliance of the Piedmont
does not advise it, as it takes most
families a good bit of preparation to
become fully acquainted with their legal
responsibilities as well as to gather the
supplies and learn the basic skills
involved in caring for a body for up to
several days. There are no resources in
our chapter or community to assist
families with learning these requirements
at the time of need.
Is it legal for
a cemetery to force me to purchase a grave
marker through them?
To our awareness, no federal or state
statute specifically addresses this issue.
However, case law supports the position that
consumers may indeed supply their own
marker, as long as the marker is in keeping
with the cemetery's regulations governing
marker size, style, color and other
characteristics. In Moore vs Jas Matthews
& Col (1977, appellate 1982) it was
determined that cemeteries cannot tie the
sale of grave markers to their installation
and that outside grave marker dealers and
installers are permitted to perform
foundation and installation work subject to
reasonable cemetery rules, regulations and
specifications. In Roseborough Monument Co.
vs the Memorial Park Association (1981),
this was reaffirmed but the ruling
stipulated that cemeteries do have the right
to establish reasonable rules, regulations
and specifications for anyone to perform
that work.
Consumers who want to provide their own gave
markers should get approval in writing for a
specific grave marker from the cemetery
before that grave marker is purchased.
However, in our query to the FCA listserv,
we learned of a number of ways that
cemeteries can discourage consumers from
purchasing grave markers from an outside
source. One writer in Bakersville, Calif.,
said the local SCI-owned mortuary/cemetery
handling a burial of one of her friends told
the family that SCI would warranty the
marker against breakage or damage by lawn
mowing equipment only if it was purchased
from the cemetery. These types of
manipulative practices are further evidence
of the need to bring more cemeteries under
the scrutiny of the Funeral Rule.
If you believe that a cemetery is
obstructing your right to provide your own
grave marker, we would like to know of the
problem. You might also try complaining to
the North Carolina Cemetery Commission if
the cemetery is a for-profit entity (as
opposed to a municipal cemetery). Their
phone number in Raleigh is (919) 733-4151.
North Carolina state law does not prohibit
burial on one's own private property.
However, some local ordinances restrict
this, particularly in larger towns and
cities. For instance, we do not know of any
Guilford County ordinances that prohibit
burial of human remains on a family's own
private property, but in the City of
Greensboro, a family may do so only if the
burial site is a family cemetery established
prior to July 1, 1957, or by permission of
City Council. You can research pertinent
local ordinances at www.municode.com:
Click on Municode Library, then North
Carolina, then the county or town of your
choice. You might also check with your local
public health department. Lisa Carlson,
author of Caring
for the Dead generally advises that
families burying their dead on their own
land place the burial plot at least 150 feet
from a water supply and 25 feet from a power
line or boundary line, draw a map indicating
the plot's location on the property, and pay
to have the map recorded with the deed.
According to North Carolina law, the
uppermost portion of the remains, or their
encasement, must be at least 18 inches below
the surface of the ground.
I just had a
loved one cremated. Where can I legally
scatter or bury the ashes?
The technical term is cremated remains. The
following is from the N.C. statutes:
In
addition to the disposal of cremated
remains in a crypt, niche, grave, or
scattering garden located in a dedicated
cemetery, or by scattering over
uninhabited public land, the sea, or other
public waterways..., cremated remains may
be disposed of in any manner on the
private property of a consenting owner,
upon direction of the authorizing agent.
I'm dying, and I want to be
cremated, but there is a dispute in my
family about this. When I told the
crematory about the matter, they refused
to get involved. Can they do this?
Yes. Unless you and the funeral provider
have entered a contractual relationship,
the provider has the right to refuse to
provide service to you on any number of
grounds (other than for reasons that would
violate your civil rights). In the recent
past, crematories that have performed a
cremation based on the instructions of the
"authorizing agent" (the person recognized
by law to be the one responsible for
selecting final arrangements) in families
where there is discord on this matter have
been successfully sued, so it is
understandable that a crematory would be
very nervous entering the fray. This is
one situation in which we would recommend
that you consider establishing a preneed
contract with a different provider
specifying cremation. Once money is
exchanged in such a contract, the provider
is obligated to perform its terms,
regardless of any objections voiced by
other family members. You also should
consider appointing a sympathetic
individual as your authorizing agent via
the North Carolina
Appointment of Agent for Body
Disposition and Authorization for
Cremation form (see
the next question).
Can
I designate someone before I die to make
decisions regarding the final disposition
of my body at the time of my death?
Yes. One means to do so is via a health
care power of attorney (HCPOA)
which specifically grants the individual
you so designate to make decisions
regarding what happens to your body after
your death. This is a broad based power
that gives this person the right (within
the scope of other laws) to make decisions
as to the method of final disposition
(e.g., burial or cremation), donations of
the body or its parts, and autopsies (not
otherwise required by a medical examiner),
in addition to health care decision-making
powers that would be granted before you
die if you were to become incapacitated.
If you desire, you may also use the HCPOA
to limit the scope of any of these powers
(for instance, to require cremation as the
means of final disposition).
However, a HCPOA is not invoked unless you
are declared incompetent before you die.
And even if so, North Carolina statute
§ 130A-420, “Authority to dispose of
body or body parts,” gives certain other
instruments priority over HCPOAs regarding
the type, place and method of disposition.
A written statement regarding final
arrangements other than a will signed by
the individual and witnessed by two adults
takes precedence over a HCPOA; a written
will takes even higher precedence; and a
preneed funeral contract or cremation
authorization form takes the highest
precedence of all—although future case law
could potentially affect how this
statutory hierarchy plays out.
Therefore, if you prefer to be cremated,
you may also want to use the North
Carolina Appointment of Agent for Body
Disposition and Authorization for
Cremation form, which additionally
clarifies whether your authorized agent
must arrange cremation or may consider
other final arrangements. If you prefer to
be buried, and you do not wish to
establish a preneed funeral contract, then
you might also want to use a will or
another properly witnessed written
statement to enforce your preferences.
What if you have left no written
directions for final arrangements?
According to North Carolina statute §
130A-420 again, the following competent
persons in the order listed may be the
authorizing agent for your funeral
arrangements: a surviving spouse; a
majority of adult children; surviving
parents; a majority of surviving adult
siblings; a majority of adult persons in
further degrees of kinship; or a person
who “has exhibited special care and
concern for the decedent and is willing
and able to make decisions about the
disposition.” (The ordered list continues,
but would apply only to very unusual
situations.) One observation to make here
is that committed partners who are not
spouses likely would not fall under the
privileged category of “surviving spouse,”
which makes using other written means as
outlined above especially important for
committed but unmarried couples of any
sexual orientation.
A funeral
provider informs me that state law
requires a grave liner or vault. Is this
true?
No state law requires outer burial
containers but cemeteries have the right to
require them as a matter of business
policy. It is illegal for a funeral provider
to state that outer burial containers are
required by law in North Carolina.
A member of our
family has died, and we don't have money
for a funeral. Can you help?
Funeral Consumers Alliance of the Piedmont
does not have funds to assist families with
funeral expenses. We can provide information
that might be helpful, however.
If you have some funds available, then you
should be aware that direct cremations and
immediate burials are the least expensive
options available from a funeral provider.
Both offer basic services without embalming,
public viewing or ceremony. (Of course, you
can always have a memorial service afterward
that doesn't involve the funeral provider's
assistance.) You can cut expenses even
further by providing your own urn (in the
case of cremation) or casket (in the case of
burial). Cremation is almost always less
expensive than burial. For a cremation, it
usually costs less to work directly with a
crematory rather than a funeral home. One
crematory in our area charges customers to
transfer cremated remains into a container
provided by the consumer; in this case, ask
that the cremated remains simply be returned
to you in the crematory's "temporary
container" that is usually either a
cardboard box or plastic bag.
If your funds are insufficient even for a
direct cremation, you might consider an
anatomical bequeathal (whole-body donation)
to Wake Forest University's Baptist Medical
Center. Human cadavers are used by the
medical school for educational purposes for
one to two years, then cremated. The
cremated remains can be returned to the
family upon request. Not all bodies are
suitable -- for instance, extreme obesity
and certain pathological conditions are
reasons for exclusion -- and the program
prefers arrangements to be made in advance.
However, sometimes a body can be accepted at
the last minute if it has been refrigerated.
The family is responsible for arranging
transportation of the body to the facility.
The family may do this themselves or may
hire a funeral home or licensed funeral
transport provider. For more information on
funeral transport options, contact our
chapter. For more information on the
whole-body donation program, contact Dr.
Craig Henkel at (336) 716-4379 or
chenkel@wfubmc.edu
Genesis
Legacy also accepts whole body donations
for the the Medical Education and Research
Institute (MERI) a medical teaching and
training facility in Memphis, Tenn. Both
entities are not-for-profit educational
organizations. Genesis Legacy arranges and
pays for the transport of the body. To
learn more, visit www.genesislegacy.org
Another option, if a whole-body donation
cannot be arranged, is to offer the body to
a body broker, someone who serves as an
intermediary between those who have bodies,
such as medical centers, and those who need
them, such as sponsors of surgical seminars.
There is a growing trade in body parts,
which Funeral Consumers Alliance is seeking
to have come under greater regulatory
scrutiny. Despite the lack of transparency
in many of these businesses--you may never
learn what become of your loved one's
remains--they usually do not cost the
consumer anything. You can locate some of
these entities by Googling "body part
donations."
When families come to a funeral home or
crematory with very limited funds, funeral
providers often will encourage them to look
to friends, relatives and faith communities
for assistance with the costs. Occasionally,
a funeral home will offer a free or
discounted funeral for specific hardship
cases, but no funeral provider is obligated
to do so. The last resort, established by
North Carolina law, is the social services
department of the county in which the death
occurred, if it is evident that nobody will
step forward within 10 days to claim a body
for burial or cremation. In that case, the
body is first offered to the state
Commission on Anatomy. If the offer is
refused, then the county arranges and pays
for a final disposition of its choice. It is
unlikely that in such a situation a family
would have much opportunity for viewing the
body.
A member of my family has just died
here, but we need to have his body flown
to a foreign country for burial. Can you
help?
Eagle's
Wing's Air Travel Agency specializes in
air funeral transport to international
locations. You can visit their website at
www.eagleswingsair.com
or call them at (866) 550-1392. Or if you
are being assisted by a funeral home, you
can have them make the call. If you know
of other resources, particularly for
bodies being flown to Mexico, we'd like to
learn about them.
Clark Howard, the consumer talk
show host, says you can arrange a discount
burial or cremation. What discount do you
offer?
Clark
Howard is a member of the Atlanta chapter
of Funeral Consumers Alliance, which, like
some older FCA chapters, operates on what
FCAers called the Costco Model -- you
basically buy into the chapter to obtain a
discount burial or cremation worked out
just for its members with one or two local
funeral providers. These chapters
had their heyday before the Funeral Rule
came out in 1984 to empower consumers with
more control over the selection of funeral
goods and services. Like most newer FCA
chapters, we don't operate that way.
Instead, we operate on the Advocacy Model,
meaning that we use research, education
and advocacy to teach all consumers in our
area -- not just our members -- how to
save money on funeral arrangements, if
indeed that is their aim. Our
not-for-profit status would be in jeopardy
if we were to provide a significant
benefit available only to members, and the
funeral providers involved would simply
pass those costs on to other funeral
consumers. In addition, we are careful to
avoid entangling, too-cozy relationships
with one or two funeral providers, wanting
instead to be an objective, fair and
credible source for comparative data on
funeral providers in our area. In this
way, we operate very much like Consumer
Reports, except we focus only on the local
funeral industry. Regardless of which
model is used by an FCA chapter, it is
true that we are all the "go to" source
for funeral consumers on how to cut
funeral costs. Although we can't offer you
a member-only discount, our member
resource binder is full of information
that will teach you about your rights and
options as a funeral consumer--knowledge
that can easily save you thousands of
dollars at life's end. For more
information on our Advocacy Model, go here.
"
In
North Carolina, a consumer buys space
rights in a cemetery plot, crypt or
columbarian, but does not actually
purchase the land involved. Therefore,
instead of a deed, the consumer would
receive an interment certificate
conferring such rights. The documentation
should clearly identify the location and
specific rights involved, and it is
reasonable to request a map that shows the
place to which the rights point.
How can I gain access to my
ancestor's grave which is located on
someone else's private property? If
the landowner gives consent this is
covered in North
Carolina Statute
§ 65-101Which states than descendants "may
enter the property of another to discover,
restore, maintain, or visit a grave or
abandoned public cemetery".
When the
landowner does not give consent North
Carolina Statue § 65-102 applies.
This states that a descendant "may
commence a special proceeding by
petitioning the clerk of superior court"
to gain access to the grave. Further "The
clerk shall issue an order allowing the
petitioner to enter the property" if
certain conditions are met. The order will
contain conditions and restrictions on the
access. This process will probably require
the assistance of a lawyer.
