Frequently Asked Questions
1. Is there an organization where I can file a complaint against a funeral home or cemetery? You can file a complaint with the Texas Funeral Service Commission (TFSC). You can find the complaint forms online at their site here. While theTFSC may claim that it does not have jurisdiction of such a problem, they may take the position that they can help you. Whatever they do, such complaints will eventually get to the Texas Legislature and can be used to show why families need better cemetery regulation in Texas. The link to the TFSC complaint form: http://www.tfsc.state.tx.us/complaint.asp
2. My parent has a pre-need contract in another state. She/he now lives in Texas. What do we do now? The ability to use the contract depends largely on four things: (1) What does the contract say about its transferability or revocability? (2) What are the laws of the state in which it was written concerning transferability or revocability? (3) Was it insurance-funded or trust-funded? (4) Was it arranged through one of the major three funeral conglomerates (SCI, Stewart, Alderwoods)?
If the contract terms allow the contract to be transferred, then transferring it to a nearby funeral home may be the best option. If the contract allows it to be revoked, this should be considered taking into account how much of the money paid will be returned. Sometimes, enough money can be recovered and put aside in a special account to pay for funeral services offered in the local area through a memorial society or funeral consumers alliance that has negotiated discount prices for its members.
The law of the state where the contract was entered may allow either transferability or revocation of the contract. If so, the issues in the above paragraph should be considered.
If the contract was insurance-funded, the policy can be taken to a funeral home near the person’s new residence and they can tell you if they will be able to perform the services using the insurance policy for payment. If the contract was trust-funded, the laws of the state where it was entered into will control the transferability of the contract.
If the contract was arranged through one of the three funeral home conglomerates (SCI, Stewart, Alderwoods), a local funeral home owned by that corporation will likely be able to perform the services under the terms of the original contract.
Finally, contact the local memorial society and learn whether it has funeral options that will save money no matter what can be done with the pre-need contract.
3. Friends in another state want to know if there is an AMBIS in their state. How do they find out? There is a national directory of memorial societies that can be found at the Funeral Consumers Alliance, http://www.funerals.org
4. I completed my advance planning forms in another state; are they good in Texas? General advance planning forms transfer from state to state. However, to be certain, we suggest updating your forms in the state where you are currently living.
5. Does a body need to be embalmed? My father will be buried in another Texas city–does he have to be embalmed for transport? A body must be kept cool (between 34 and 40 degrees) beginning 24 hours after death, or it must be encased in a leak-proof and odor-proof container, or it must be embalmed. Embalming is one of the three options, but there is no law which requires you to choose embalming. For transport to another city, a refrigerated vehicle or dry ice can also be used to satisfy the temperature requirement or encasement of the body can be chosen.
6. Do any Texas medical schools that accept cadavers? Following is the information we provide to new members about body donation. Some people who would like to donate their bodies for scientific use after death may encounter psychological, personal, and family concerns that prevent this alternative to burial or cremation from being widely accepted. In addition, a limited demand for body donation by scientific and medical programs and the requirements of the various medical institutions that accept bodies for research and education may make body donation an unworkable alternative for many.
Those who make arrangements for the donation of their bodies should have alternative plans for disposition in the event that the institution declines to accept their donated body because of its condition or because it does not meet the institution’s needs at the time of death.The eleven medical or scientific institutions in Texas that accept bodies for research and education purposes generally refer to body donation as a “willed-body program.”
Each institution has its own requirements for the condition of the body, the age of the deceased, and the distance from the facility it will travel to pick up a donated body. Some institutions, for example, will not accept bodies that have endured severe trauma or recent surgery, have missing organs or limbs, are excessively obese, have suffered a spreading malignancy, or had an infectious disease at the time of death.
Some medical facilities will reject a body if death has occurred by suicide, burns, or drowning. Usually, the institution will pay all of the costs of special embalming and transportation for a set distance from the facility. After the institution has completed its use of the body, the remains are cremated and can be returned to a designated family member if prior arrangements have been made, or are scattered at a memorial site maintained by the facility or in international waters in the Gulf of Mexico.
Because each institution has its own criteria for the acceptance of a body, those interested in such a disposition should contact the facilities directly to learn their particular requirements. Some facilities accept applications for body donations only for a limited period each year; others have an open enrollment policy. The accompanying list provides names, addresses, and telephone numbers of each willed-body program operating in Texas.
The numbers following institutions indicate the number of miles from the institution for which they will pay for transportation of the deceased’s body. (revised 9/02):
- University of Texas (*300 miles) -TEMPORARILY UNDER SUSPENSION Medical Branch at Galveston Galveston, TX 77550 409-772-1293
- Texas Tech University Health Science Center-School of Medicine Lubbock, TX 79430 806-743-2700
- University of Texas (*100 miles) Health Science Center at San Antonio San Antonio, TX 78284-7762 210-567-3900
- Texas A & M University Health Science Center-College of Medicine College Station, TX 77843-1114 979-845-4913
- University of North Texas (*50 miles) Health Science Center at Fort Worth Fort Worth, TX 76107-2699 817-735-2047
- University of Texas (*75 miles) Southwestern Medical Center Dallas, TX 75235 214-648-2221
- Baylor College of Medicine (*100 miles) Houston, TX 77030 713-798-3858
- University of Texas (*250 miles) Health Science Center-Medical School Houston, TX 77225 713-500-5603
- Baylor College of Dentistry (*250 miles) Texas A & M University System HSC Dallas, TX 75246 214-828-8270
- Parker College of Chiropractic Dallas, Texas 75229 214-352-7332 ext. 7323 Texas Chiropractic College Pasadena, Texas 77505 281-998-6025
7. I’m a Veteran. What are my benefits? Please visit the Veterans Administration Burial and Memorial Benefits Website. The site also includes information about VA cemeteries. Link: http://www1.va.gov/opa/IS1/7.asp
8. Where do I store my advance planning documents? We recommend storing your advance planning documents in your refrigerator or freezer; not in a safety deposit box . In addition, make sure you tell someone where to locate your documents in case you are unable to speak for yourself.
9. What is a green burial? In general, when speaking about green burial, we are referring to a field or woodland burial, complemented by the use of an outer burial container made from biodegradable materials, such as cardboard, wood, or a cloth shroud (burial containers made of grass or other biodegradable containers are now available). As usually conceived, the environment of green burial grounds is kept as wild and as natural as possible. Memorials and headstones are generally not permitted, though small ground-level markers may be. Often memorial trees can be planted to mark the grave. No embalming is usually allowed. The dignity of any service is not compromised by these arrangements and indeed the simplicity of the service can add to its meaning for many. Many rural and small-town cemeteries will allow ecologically-friendly burials, but they do not strive to maintain the surroundings in their natural state. To locate some of the organized green burial grounds in the U.S., visit the Cemetery Group, http://www.cemeterygroup.org/ or Forest of Memories, http://www.forestofmemories.org.
10. Can I bury a body on private property? Yes. No formal designation of the private or family burial ground is required, though some people choose to place a designation of the private or family burial ground in the deed records in their county so that there is a public record of the location. Generally, records should be kept by the land-owner or family of whose body is buried where and when it was buried. See ‘Forms and brochures’ page, Establishing a Family Cemetery in Texas.
11. Can I submit an obituary to the paper directly and save money by doing so? Yes, you can submit an obituary to a newspaper directly. However, newspapers usually charge for publishing obituaries. Some newspapers will require that a funeral director confirm the death or otherwise participate in the placement of the obituary. Please note that the consumer is also charged for the cost of including the funeral home logo within the obituary. The consumer can therefore specify that the logy not be included. By all means, funeral consumers should check with the newspaper of interest to find out about their policies regarding obituaries.
12. Do I have to pay for the funeral package if I don’t want all the items itemized? By law funeral homes are required to itemize the goods and services they provide on a General Price List (GPL). Most offer package funerals that purport to save families money over the cost of each itemized good or service that is included in the package. If you choose a package funeral, most funeral,homes will not give you credit for any good or service included in the package which you do not want. While you don’t have to accept any good or service you don’t want, you will be paying for it in the package price. Always add up the cost of each good and service offered in the package using the GPL to make sure you are actually receiving a discount by purchasing a package. If items you don’t want are expensive, you may pay less by purchasing the goods and services you want directly from the GPL and ignoring the package funerals offered.
13. Do I need to complete a Living Will? What was formerly called a Living Will in Texas, is now called “Directive to Physicians and Surrogates”. This important document is designed to help the individual communicate his or her wishes about medical treatment at some future when when, due to incapacity, the individual is unable to personally make his/her wishes known. These wishes are usually based on personal values. While important, the Directive does not take precedence over the Texas form “Medical Power of Attorney for Health Care” (Medical POA), a highly important document that provides for naming an agent to whom authority is assigned for making a broad range of health care decisions for the individual. No advance directive is more important than the Medical POA. Legislation establishing and renaming what was formerly called the “Living Will” as the “Directive to Physicians and Surrogates” was done so to avoid ongoing confusion with wills that have to do with estate planning and not medical decision making.
14. Prepaid funeral contracts, good or bad? The Texas Department of Banking took the website live that helps educate consumers about prepaid funeral contracts. The website is required by the new law, and is part of what I wrote into the law last session. The website also has a link to the national website for Funeral Consumers Alliance: http://www.prepaidfunerals.state.tx.us/