The Law of the Dead and the Rights of the Living: New York Needs Reform
Three legal issues especially highlight the troubling manner in which our nation cares for its dead. New York's lawyers have the ability to address each of them.
February 06, 2019 at 02:30 PM
8 minute read
“Show me the manner in which a nation cares for its dead and I will measure with mathematical exactness the tender mercies of its people, their respect for the laws of the land, and their loyalty to high ideals,” said British statesman Sir William Ewart Gladstone.
This standard doesn't cast Americans in a very tender or loyal light, nor does it imply strong respect for the laws.
Three legal issues especially highlight the troubling manner in which our nation cares for its dead. New York's lawyers have the ability to address each of them.
Funeral Expenses
The recently bereaved, whose grief is often complicated by the time constraints of funeral planning, are a “particularly vulnerable group” of consumers. Powers v. Harris, 379 F.3d 1208, 1215 (10th Cir. 2004). To protect this group, in 1982 the FTC imposed regulations in the form of the “Funeral Rule” (16 CFR Part 453). These include mandatory written price disclosures and a prohibition on embalming without family authorization, and require à la carte products and services instead of only “bundled” packages with services a family may not want.
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