Franklin Roosevelt left detailed instructions for his funeral, but he deposited them in his safe without informing anyone.
Only after his funeral did his family realize that he explicitly rejected much of what had been done — the embalming, the use of an expensive casket, and the grave liner or vault. He desired a rapid return of his crippled body to the elements.

From Cremation Concerns by W.E. Phipps

About Us
We are a non-sectarian, non-profit, consumer-protection group, organized in 1961, staffed entirely by volunteers, dedicated to helping members have the kind of memorial service or funeral they desire, at an affordable cost. We do this by:

Providing information to consumers about their options.

Supporting California legislation which protects the rights of consumers to exercise choice in funeral arrangements.

Encouraging members to plan for their final arrangements and to discuss those arrangements with family members.

Providing speakers for groups interested in learning more about the choices consumers have regarding end-of-life issues.

Working cooperatively with other funeral consumer groups and memorial societies, which helps to bring down the cost of funerals and to improve mortuary practices.

Conducting periodic surveys of prices at local mortuaries.

Making agreements with participating mortuaries, to provide low-cost services to our members.

We do not provide funeral services or sell insurance or burial plots or anything else (except some low-cost pamphlets).

We seek to educate the public about options for funerals and about relevant consumer-protection legislation.

Our national organization, Funeral Consumers Alliance, has many resources which you can download on your computer. They also sell books and pamphlets, including a useful funeral planning kit, Before I Go, You Should Know for $12.

We also encourage members to consider leaving instructions for the medical care they do and do not want, by creating an Advance Health Care Directive, and to designate an agent to make health-care decisions when they are unable to make such decisions for themselves. The California Medical Association, P.O. Box 7690, San Francisco, CA 94120-7690, 1-800-882-1262, sells a very detailed kit for $5 to guide you through the process of completing an Advance Health Care Directive.

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Benefits of Membership

Membership can help assure that your wishes will be carried out. We encourage everyone to put their wishes in writing and to distribute copies to any family members and friends who might be involved in your death arrangements.

Funerals typically cost thousands of dollars, and can be among the larger expenditures a family ever makes at one time. Members of FCA of Kern County are able to use the low-cost, discounted services of a participating mortuary. This is neither a prepayment plan, nor an insurance plan. Survivors pay for funeral costs at the time of need, based upon current negotiated prices.

When decisions are made in advance, surviving family members suffer less stress, because it is unnecessary to bargain with funeral directors or feel pressured into buying expensive funeral arrangements.

Everyone benefits, because our society and its state and national affiliates lobby for laws to protect the rights of consumers and lobby against laws which are constantly proposed to reduce those rights.

How to Join

One-time membership costs $30 per adult. To join, you should fill out a membership application and an Instructions to Survivors form. If you would like us to mail you the form, please write us at the address at the top of this page, or contact us by phone.

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