“ services ” in the first sentence, indicated in boldface above. The disclosure must appear on the GPL together with the prices for the individual caskets or together with the casket price range if you have a separate Casket Price List. 5. Casket Price List The fifth disclosure tells consumers that a Casket Price List is available. You may list casket prices either on the General Price List or on a separate Casket Price List. If you use a separate Casket Price List, your GPL should state the range of prices for the caskets you sell, together with the following disclosure: A complete price list will be provided at the funeral home . 6. Outer Burial Container Price List The sixth disclosure informs consumers that an Outer Burial Container Price List is available. Again, you can either put the prices for the outer burial containers on your General Price List, or you can provide a separate Outer Burial Container Price List. If you use a separate price list, your GPL should state the range of prices for the outer burial containers you sell, together with the following disclosure: A complete price list will be provided at the funeral home . If you put the prices for the outer burial containers on your General Price List, you also must include the following disclosure in immediate conjunction with (directly next to) the outer burial container prices. In most areas of the country , state or local law does not require that you buy a container to surround the casket in the grave. However, many cemeteries require that you have such a container so that the grave will not sink in. Either a grave liner or a burial vault will satisfy these requirements. If instead you provide a separate price list for outer burial containers, then you must include the above disclosure on your Outer Burial Container Price List. You don’t have to include the phrase, “in most areas of the country,” indicated in boldface above, in the disclosure if your state or local law does not require a container to surround the casket in the grave. The itemized prices on your General Price List, as well as your Casket Price List and Outer Burial Container Price List, should be accurate and up to date. These prices should reflect the prices that you actually charge your customers. Of course, you can offer a discount when there are special circumstances, such as arrangements for a friend or relative or a family that otherwise could not afford your services. The Rule does not prevent you from doing this. However, you should not inflate the prices on any of your price lists in order to offer all or most of your customers a discount. In that case, the “discounted” prices would be the accurate prices and should be
arrangements. This basic services fee could include a charge for the services you perform in conducting the arrangements conference, planning the funeral, securing the necessary permits, preparing the notices, and coordinating the cemetery or crematory arrangements. This fee also may include overhead that you have not allocated elsewhere. You can include this fee on your General Price List in one of two ways: ● Option 1 : If you list a separate basic services fee and the charge is non-declinable (the consumer does not have the option of declining the charge), you must provide the following disclosure: This fee for our basic services and overhead will be added to the total cost of the funeral arrangements you select. (This fee is already included in our charges for direct cremations, immediate burials, and forwarding or receiving remains.) If you decide on Option 1, this disclosure must appear together with the price for the basic services and with a description of the services you include for that price. (You cannot place this disclosure on a separate page or anywhere else on the GPL apart from the basic services price.) If this basic services fee is non-declinable, the price also must include all charges for the recovery of overhead that you have not allocated elsewhere. In this situation, the first sentence of your disclosure can include the phrase “ and overhead ” after the word “ services ,” as shown above. ● Option 2 : Instead of charging a separate basic services fee, you can include the services fee in your casket prices. With this alternative, you must include the following disclosure: Please note that a fee of ( specify dollar amount ) for the use of our basic services and overhead is included in the price of our caskets. This same fee shall be added to the total cost of your funeral arrangements if you provide the casket. Our services include ( specify ). If you decide on Option 2, the fee should include all charges for the recovery of overhead costs not allocated elsewhere, and you may add the phrase “ and overhead ” after the word Required itemized prices on the GPL The Rule requires you to itemize the prices for certain goods and services so consumers may choose only those elements of a funeral that they want. You must list the following 16 specified items of goods and services on the GPL, together with the price for each item: 1. Forwarding of remains to another funeral home; 2. Receiving remains from another funeral home; 3. Direct cremation; 4. Immediate burial; 5. Basic services of funeral director and staff, and overhead; 6. Tansfer of remains to funeral home; 7. Embalming; 8. Other preparation of the body; 9. Use of facilities and staff for viewing; 10. Use of facilities and staff for funeral ceremony; 11. Use of facilities and staff for memorial service; 12. Use of equipment and staff for graveside service; 13. Hearse; 14. Limousine; 15. Either individual casket prices or the range of casket prices that appear on the Casket Price List; and 16. Either individual outer burial container prices or the range of outer burial container prices that appear on the Outer Burial Container Price List. You can list these items in any order you want. You only have to list the items that you actually offer. If you do not offer one or more of the 16 items, you need not list those items on the General Price List. In addition to these 16 items, you also may list other items that you offer, such as acknowledgment cards and cremation urns. You also may provide prices for package funerals on your GPL. However, you must offer any package funerals in addition to and not in place of the required itemized prices.
reflected on the price lists. Items 1-4: Minimal Services Four items that the Rule requires you to list are: 1. Forwarding of remains; 2. Receiving remains; 3. Direct cremation; and 4. Immediate burial.
Unlike the rest of the goods and services that you must list on the GPL, the prices for these four items must include any fee that you will charge consumers for the basic professional services of the funeral director and staff. Example : Ms. James wants to arrange an immediate burial for her father. In addition, she chooses acknowledgment cards, use of a limousine, and a graveside service. You should charge her the fee for an immediate burial plus the fees for the other items that she wants. But you should not charge her an additional non- declinable basic services fee. A charge for your basic services is already included in the price for the immediate burial . The required disclosure about the basic services fee informs the consumer of this fact.
Book Code: FTX1624
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