60 Minutes viewers!—If you caught tonight's story on consumer abuses at cemeteries you'll want to learn how to protect yourself:        

—FCA's free Consumer's Guide to Cemetery Purchases

Everything you need to know about funeral and burial purchases is in the book the burialbusiness doesn't want you to read: Final Rights: Reclaiming the American Way of Death. Bonus—you can download the chapter that covers your state laws and consumer protections for just $5! 

—Your local Funeral Consumers Alliance chapter is your best advocate for finding meaningful, dignified, and affordable end-of-life arrangements. 

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Set your Tivos! 60 Minutes will air a segment on rampant consumer abuses in the cemetery industry this Sunday, May 20, 2012, at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. The investigation will feature an interview with FCA executive director Josh Slocum talking to Anderson Cooper. FCA has worked with the 60 Minutes team for more than a year to represent the consumer's side of this grim story. 

The Inquirer (Philly.com)
Philadelphia PA
May 15  2012

A federal district judge sitting in Harrisburg has thrown out decades-old state regulations governing Pennsylvania funeral homes  saying they held down competition while substantially boosting costs.

Judge John E. Jones III  ruling in a four-year-old lawsuit that a York-area funeral director and others brought against individual members of the Pennsylvania State Board of Funeral Directors  essentially endorsed the plaintiffs’ allegations that regulators walled the funeral business off from competition by restricting the entry of out-of-state operators  imposed rules that made it difficult for funeral homes to operate efficiently  and even went so far as to improperly impose restrictions on funeral home names.

Read the full article at The Inquirer (Philly.com)

Thanks to the Death Care Law Blog for alerting us to this article.

RELATED LINK

Pennsylvania: knocking down fences (Death Care Law Blog)

The Orange County Register
Santa Ana CA
May 10, 2012

Couples plan for weddings. Teens and their families arrange elaborate quinceañeras or sweet sixteens. Few, however, prepare for their funerals, especially those who wish to return to their native land in death.

That's when Guillermina Reyes steps in. The 46-year-old with a high-pitched voice and a blinding-white smile has become the go-to person when a loved one dies in the local Mexican immigrant community.

Read the full article at The Orange County Register

Thanks to the HVCC Mortuary Science Alumni & Student Assoc for alerting us to this article.

Stuff.co.nz
New Zealand
May 6, 2012

New Zealanders may be shy and reserved, but we hold long, personalised funerals for our loved ones, and show far more emotion than Norwegians, Swedes, English and Scots.

Our funerals lean towards the American style, where everything – down to the cup of tea and biscuits afterwards – is organised by a funeral home.

Read the full article at Stuff.co.nz

Thanks to The Good Funeral Guide Blog for alerting us to this article.