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Disclaimer

FCA recognizes that the dissemination of individual experiences, the reporting of public information, and linking to other sites can help further our mission of educating the public on their funeral rights and options. However, FCA's limited resources and the nature of the Internet make it impossible to verify the content of personal experiences that are supplied by others or to verify the content of linked sites. FCA accepts no responsibility for these. Comments on the contents of personal reports and linked websites should be directed to the author(s).

Green Burial in New York--Open Meeting

Wednesday, 10 April 2013 15:31
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Green Burial in New York State

You are invited to attend our Annual Meeting of the Funeral Consumers Alliance of Long Island/New York City on Saturday, April 13, 2013, at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Shelter Rock,
48 Shelter Rock Road, Manhasset, New York. The meeting is free. Refreshments are served after the meeting.

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 12 June 2013 11:44 ) Read more...
 

FCA Vermont 2013 Gathering

Tuesday, 26 March 2013 13:19
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Laughing in the Face of Death: Funny Films to Start

Serious Funeral Planning Conversations
Keynote address at FCA-VT Annual Meeting/Conference
Saturday, May 4th, 1:00 PM, Norwich Congregational Church, Norwich, VT 

We plan our finances, our families, our retirement, just about everything
except our funerals. Without end-of-life planning, life’s other plans can come
undone.

Just as talking about sex won’t make you pregnant, talking about funerals
won’t make you dead – and your family will benefit from the conversation.
Gail Rubin, author of the award-winning book A Good Goodbye: Funeral
Planning for Those Who Don't Plan to Die, uses gentle humor to convey the
vital information about funeral arrangements that most people don’t learn
about until faced with a death in the family.

Ms. Rubin will speak about funeral planning issues, illustrating her points with clips from comedy films and television programs. Films include Death at a Funeral, Undertaking Betty, The Big Lebowski, The Six Wives of Henry LeFay, and the “Chuckles Bites The Dust” episode from the Mary Tyler Moore Show. Come on out to laugh and learn!

Last Updated ( Monday, 15 April 2013 13:49 ) Read more...
 
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Cost-conscious funerals in the Arizona Republic

Monday, 04 March 2013 16:02
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The Arizona Republic did a great overview article on planning send-offs that fit your budget. They featured the top-notch funeral price survey done by the FCA of Central Arizona, too. 

 
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Deep Doubts About Neptune

Friday, 22 February 2013 13:25
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by Lamar Hankins, past president of Funeral Consumers Alliance

Selling Cremation Door-To-Door
 
I just had the opportunity to be a “secret shopper” – from the convenience of my dining room table.  Over the years, I have occasionally received solicitations from funeral homes or cremation services to encourage me to “pre-arrange” funerals or cremations.  In recent months, I received two such solicitations from the Neptune Society.  I responded to the last one, sending back their card and checking the box that indicated I wanted to receive more information.
 
That information came through a phone call a couple of weeks ago asking if one of their representatives could visit me in my home.  I said “yes” and a nice fellow showed up.  His card identified him as an “Austin Area Counselor,” for Neptune Society, “America’s Most Trusted Cremation Services.”  I was treated to a sales pitch full of misleading or outright false claims, all to get me to pay more than double the cost for a simple cremation in the Austin area.
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 26 March 2013 13:33 ) Read more...
 
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Home Funerals in South Carolina

Monday, 04 March 2013 14:18
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Kudos to the FCA of South Carolina for helping with this great article in the Columbia Star laying out the plain facts about home and family-directed funerals. 

Excerpt:

The FCA-SC explains why some would want to choose this option: Some may wish to do this because it seems more fitting and personal for them to care for their own dead rather than turning the body over to a funeral home. Other than embalming, which is never required by law, there is nothing that a funeral director can do that anyone acting as such cannot do for themselves. For most of our history, the family took the responsibility for caring for their own dead. Over recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in reclaiming this practice.

 

Another reason may be financial. The average cost of a funeral, not including any cemetery costs, is now more than $6,500. With caskets readily available on the internet or by building one yourself-it is possible to provide a meaningful and dignified funeral for a fraction of that price.

 

There is nothing in the South Carolina Code (laws) that requires the use of a funeral director. The situation is governed by the Code of Regulations 61-19.

 

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 10 April 2013 15:43 )
 
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