Orlando Estate & Elder Law

Make Your Really Final Plans in Advance

“While you’re refining your estate planning to live through your senior years, don’t forget about, uh, the end of it all.”

For most folks, postponing thinking about their funeral is the status quo, until someone close to them dies or until they have a health scare. Worse, according to The North Platte Telegraph’s article, “Sunday Focus: Don’t wait to make a plan until it’s too late,” they don’t address their demise at all, putting friends and family members in the position to have to guess what they would have wanted.

If you pre-plan your funeral, your family and loved ones are spared the unpleasant guessing game. Did she want a fancy casket? What suit would he have selected to be buried in? Or did she wish to be cremated?

If you pre-plan your funeral, you can also lock in costs for the services that morticians and cemeteries provide. If you are married or have a partner, you should go together and try to get as many of the hard decisions made in advance. This will also help you get comfortable with having this discussion.

Some mortuaries have online tools you can use to compile your information in advance, plan your funeral and compare costs. Even if you don’t pre-pay, at the very least you can pre-plan.

Some families purchase plots so they can be assured of being buried near each other.

The cost of inflation of funeral expenses has averaged about 4% for many years. People bought CDs (Certificates of Deposit) specifically for funeral expenses in the past.  However, as interest rates  dropped, they stopped being a useful planning tool.

Funeral insurance can be portable.  Therefore, if the funeral home that sells you a funeral insurance plan goes out of business, the policy is still yours. If you move to a new home, the policy—along with your directions for your funeral—can be transferred to another funeral home.

The increasing acceptance of cremation may make funerals less expensive, but there are still costs that are involved. Some family members may not like the idea of a loved one being cremated. That’s why it’s very important to convey your wishes to the family, so there is no conflict.

 Since fewer people are affiliated with houses of worship, the funeral home has taken a larger role in planning funeral services.

Prepare in advance for your funeral and complete your estate planning. Taking care of both will increase the chances that your wishes will be followed. Leaving them to your family to decide and manage the costs after you pass will add to the stress they experience while grieving for you.

For more information about estate planning in Orlando, FL (and throughout the rest of Central Florida), visit our estate planning website and be sure to subscribe to our complimentary estate planning e-newsletter while you are there.

Resource: The North Platte Nebraska Telegraph (July 22, 2018) “Sunday Focus: Don’t wait to make a plan until it’s too late”

Funds Sparse for Burying Opioid Victims

It is a good idea to set aside some money for your funeral, so that someone else does not have to pay for it. The ongoing opioid crisis reveals how not doing so can cause financial problems for governments.

On any given day, someone in the U.S. passes away and no relatives come forward to claim the remains for burial. When that happens, authorities normally take the body to a funeral home. The funeral director then starts investigating to determine whether any family members of the deceased can be located, who might be willing to claim the remains.

If that funeral home search fails to lead to anything, the funeral director will look for any assets the deceased's estate might have to determine if there is anything left behind to pay for burial. What happens if there are no assets?

The answer depends on where the person passed away as the Daily Mail explains in "Unclaimed bodies pile up as opioid overdose death rates soar and burial costs overwhelm the government."

A minority of state governments have funds set aside for the burial of unclaimed human remains.  However, most states leave it up to local governments to handle the costs. Funeral directors say that even when state governments do pay, it usually is not enough to cover all the costs. It is much worse in states that leave payment up to the local governments. With deaths rising because of the opioid crisis, the problem is getting worse in areas hard hit by overdoses.

This shows in part why it is a good idea to leave some money aside for your own burial. If something happens to you, then you can always be sure of receiving a proper funeral. No one else will need to claim your remains and pay for it.

For more information about estate planning in Orlando, FL (and throughout the rest of Central Florida), visit our estate planning website and be sure to subscribe to our complimentary estate planning e-newsletter while you are there.

Reference: Daily Mail (Feb. 28, 2018) "Unclaimed bodies pile up as opioid overdose death rates soar and burial costs overwhelm the government."

Feds Look at Funeral Home's "Golddigging"

A funeral home in Colorado is under FBI investigation for allegedly selling body parts.  However, it is not clear that the funeral home was doing anything illegal.

Problems with funeral homes in the U.S. continue to pop up in the media with an alarming frequency. A lack of state government funding for oversight of the industry is often blamed for a rash of issues with some funeral homes.

One of the latest funeral homes to come under scrutiny is in Colorado.

The owner of the funeral home is alleged to have had a side business selling body parts.

Gold fillings and teeth were pulled from cadavers and used to fund the owner's family trip to Disneyland as the Daily Mail reports in "Funeral home runs a side business selling human body parts - and made so much money selling dead people's gold teeth that the owner's mother took the whole family to Disneyland."

The FBI is investigating the funeral home.

It is possible that no laws have been broken. It is legal to sell human body parts for educational or research purposes.

Most states also allow funeral homes to sell items that are taken off of human remains. It is possible  the FBI is investigating something else or an issue that is only remotely related to what the media is reporting.

Of course, even if what the funeral home was doing is technically legal, it can still be considered unethical, if families were not informed about the home's practices.

This is yet another reason people need to be very careful about choosing which funeral home to use.

For more information about estate planning in Orlando, FL (and throughout the rest of Central Florida), visit our estate planning website and be sure to subscribe to our complimentary estate planning e-newsletter while you are there.

Reference: Daily Mail (Jan. 11, 2018) "Funeral home runs a side business selling human body parts - and made so much money selling dead people's gold teeth that the owner's mother took the whole family to Disneyland."

Budgets Cuts Causing Horror at Funeral Homes

Many state governments have experienced budget shortfalls in recent years. That has led to the inability to properly inspect and regulate funeral homes.

In 2016 residents of one Flint, MI neighborhood began noticing an awful stench. They all knew where the smell was coming from.

It was a local funeral home that had run into problems with regulators before.

This time when inspectors responded to the complaints, they found 10 decomposing bodies stored in cardboard boxes stacked in the garage. One of the corpses had been there for six weeks.

Residents say their complaints about the funeral home go back several years.

This is not a completely isolated case as ABC News reports in "Funeral home horrors put spotlight on spotty US regulation."

Funeral homes in many states have similar issues.

Some funeral directors feel the problem is that there is not a uniform standard for inspecting funeral homes.

Some states do not require inspections at all, until a complaint is filed.

More inspections would help the problem,  since regulators would discover problems sooner. However, many state budgets do not allow for hiring the increased number of inspectors that would be required.

Most likely there will not be any issues with the funeral home you choose. However, be sure to do your homework and be certain that nothing seems off about it.

For more information about estate planning in Orlando, FL (and throughout the rest of Central Florida), visit our estate planning website and be sure to subscribe to our complimentary estate planning e-newsletter while you are there.

Reference: ABC News (Oct. 28, 2017) "Funeral home horrors put spotlight on spotty US regulation."

Mom's Last Visit to Disney

Some people request that their ashes be spread at places that have sentimental value for them. However, that can be a problem when the request is to spread those ashes in an inappropriate place, such as Disneyland.

The Disney theme parks receive thousands of visitors every year. It is not uncommon for those visitors to do the same things over and over again.

To avoid alarming any guests, Disney staff use code words to describe common occurrences.

For example, if someone vomits on a ride, Disney staff refer to it as a "protein spill." A particularly rude or difficult visitor is referred to as a "treasured guest."

It is not surprising that Disney would have developed special code words to refer to what are probably very common occurrences.

However, sometimes Disney has code words for are a bit more surprising, as The Sun reports in "Be Our Guest The secret code Disney theme park staff use to describe the rudest visitors -- so have YOU been called it?"

A "white powder event" might sound like staff has discovered certain illegal drugs or potentially dangerous chemical or biological substances.

No.

It is used to refer to someone attempting to spread the ashes of the deceased at the parks.

This is something of a trend in funeral requests to have ashes spread at places the deceased loved. It happens at sports stadiums, concert halls and theme parks.

Unfortunately, it is inappropriate and normally against the law.

If you would like your ashes spread somewhere after you pass away, talk to your estate planning attorney to make sure that your request is not improper.

For more information about estate planning in Orlando, FL (and throughout the rest of Central Florida), visit our estate planning website and be sure to subscribe to our complimentary estate planning e-newsletter while you are there.

Reference: The Sun (Sep. 7, 2017) "Be Our Guest The secret code Disney theme park staff use to describe the rudest visitors -- so have YOU been called it?"

Hijinks At The Funeral?!

It might seem obvious that most people know how to behave properly at a funeral, but you would be surprised how many people do not.

Funerals are a strange thing to have on television comedy shows, but they are something of a staple. Almost every long running comedy will eventually have a funeral show.

The trick for the writers is to come up with something that is funny, but not offensive.

The humor usually comes from the idea that whatever comedic bad thing that happens on the show’s funeral episode, does not actually happen in real life.

In real life, people at funerals act with proper, sober behavior.

However, that is not always the case as Business Insider attests to in "I'm a funeral director -- screaming fights, drunken propositions, and blasting Nirvana are all part of my job."

The author of the article is a funeral director.

He goes through the many incidents of people acting inappropriately at wakes and funerals. He includes everything from a woman showing up in a bikini, people ordering pizza, to family members getting into fights and much more.

He was even propositioned once by the deceased's drunk granddaughter.

While this might seem like a small issue, it is something that families should consider making sure it does not happen at their funerals. Bad behavior at funerals can lead to fights that spill over into handling the deceased's estate, which are not at all as funny as television comedies might portray.

For more information about estate planning in Orlando, FL (and throughout the rest of Central Florida), visit our estate planning website and be sure to subscribe to our complimentary estate planning e-newsletter while you are there.

Reference: Business Insider (July 25, 2017) "I'm a funeral director -- screaming fights, drunken propositions, and blasting Nirvana are all part of my job."

Does It Pay To Pre-Paid Funerals

In the U.K., families are discovering that many pre-paid funeral plans do not cover all of the costs of funerals. Americans often face the same problem.

Funerals can be very expensive and they get more expensive all the time. To spare their families the expense of paying for their funerals and to hedge against future price inflation, a growing number of people are choosing to get their own pre-paid funeral plans.

The U.K., for example, has seen a huge increase in the number of people that get these plans. However, very frequently the plans do not cover all of the funeral costs.

There are often hidden expenses, such as flower arrangements.

Funeral companies have made it very difficult for many people to learn what is and is not covered. They also face stiff sales competition, so they exclude more and more services from the pre-paid plans.  They often give the customer a lower price, without always telling the customer what is not included.

The Guardian reported on this in "Pre-paid funeral plans failing to cover the cost of dying."

The same thing happens all over the U.S. and can create difficulties for many families.

Estate plans often include ways to pay for funeral services. However, if an estate planner incorrectly thinks the full cost of a funeral is paid for, then they are unlikely to leave extra money for the funeral in the estate plan.

That means families often need to take assets dedicated for other things to pay for some funeral costs.

If you get a pre-paid funeral plan, make sure that everything is included before signing the contract. If you are not sure if it is, then speak to an elder law attorney.

For more information about estate planning in Orlando, FL (and throughout the rest of Central Florida), visit our estate planning website and be sure to subscribe to our complimentary estate planning e-newsletter while you are there.

Reference: The Guardian (July 8, 2017) "Pre-paid funeral plans failing to cover the cost of dying."

Real Life Hotels for Corpses

A rapidly changing society and high costs have caused many Japanese families to forgo traditional funerals. Corpse hotels have arisen to meet their needs.

In American popular culture, Japan is normally portrayed as a very rigid and tradition-bound country. In some ways that is an accurate depiction, but things change in Japan just like in other countries.

Japanese funeral services have traditionally been elaborate, expensive affairs.

First, the body of the deceased is taken home and everyone in the neighborhood is invited to view it. The next day, the body is cremated and the ashes are taken home for another 49 days, after which they are buried in a local cemetery.

However, those services are extremely expensive and the country has a shortage of crematories.

This has many Japanese families turning to corpse hotels, as The New York Times reports in "Crematory Is Booked? Japan Offers Corpse Hotels."

In some ways, these corpse hotels are just like any other hotel. People can stay overnight in a traditional hotel room that has the usual amenities.

The difference?

Across the hall from the living guests are rooms that house the bodies of their deceased family members, while they await an open crematory. Japanese people are less likely to know their neighbors than they once did. Consequently, they do not see the need to hold an elaborate funeral for the entire neighborhood.

There is also a cost saving. Corpse hotels can cost a tenth of what holding a traditional funeral would.

The U.S. does not have corpse hotels.  However, funerals are changing here and many elderly people are deciding to be buried in non-traditional ways.

For more information about estate planning in Orlando, FL (and throughout the rest of Central Florida), visit our estate planning website and be sure to subscribe to our complimentary estate planning e-newsletter while you are there.

Reference: New York Times (July 1, 2017) "Crematory Is Booked? Japan Offers Corpse Hotels."

Seeking Funeral Price Transparency

Americans are not the only people in the world who have a difficult time finding accurate funeral price information. Australians have the same problem.

One of the many small estate planning things people can do to make things easier on their families is to plan ahead for their own funerals. By making all of the arrangements they want for their funerals and paying for everything in advance, people leave one less thing to worry about.

At least, that is how it is supposed to work.

In reality, people have often found it difficult to get funeral pricing information so they can find the best deal. Even when they do sign contracts and pay in advance, many families are later hit with hefty bills for things they thought were included in the funeral price, but were not.

This is not just a problem in the U.S.

In fact, Australia has the same issue as The Guardian reports in "Funeral pricing comparison website targeted with legal threats."

A former solicitor in Australia went undercover and posed as a customer at funeral homes. He got pricing information from over 600 of them. He posted the information on a website so other Australians could easily comparison shop and make sure they were not being quoted a price from a funeral home that was more expensive than another customer was quoted from the same business.

He is now being threatened with legal action.

In the U.S., funeral homes are legally required to give customers fair and accurate pricing information when requested. However, it has proven very difficult to enforce those laws.

Anyone who has problems getting the information, should not hesitate to call an estate attorney.

For more information about  all aspects of estate planning in Orlando, FL (and throughout the rest of Central Florida), visit our estate planning website and be sure to subscribe to our complimentary estate planning e-newsletter while you are there.

Reference: The Guardian (May 29, 2017) "Funeral pricing comparison website targeted with legal threats."

The Real Undead Son

A California man had been told that his son had passed away.  He spent a lot of money on the son's funeral and was surprised when he talked to his son on the phone less than two weeks later.

Frank Kerrigan, an elderly California man, knew that his son had problems. He had a lot of problems.

The son suffered from mental illness and was homeless.

Therefore, it probably was not that big of a surprise to Kerrigan when he received a phone call from the Orange County, California coroner's office to inform him that his son had passed away. Kerrigan asked the coroner if he could see his son's body and personally identify him.  However, he was told that was unnecessary since the coroner had confirmed the deceased's identity using fingerprints.

Kerrigan arranged a funeral for his son and spent $20,000.

Other family members flew in from out of state to attend the funeral. However, 11 days later, Kerrigan received a phone call from a family friend who informed him that not only was his son not dead, he was standing right there.

Kerrigan then spoke to his son on the phone, as the Daily Mail reports in "Outrage as father is told his homeless son is dead and buries him in $20k funeral - only to be told 11 days later that it was a mistake by the coroner and that his son is very much ALIVE!."

Kerrigan is suing the coroner's office for damages that he suffered due to the false identification.

Cases of authorities mistakenly identifying a deceased person do not happen all that often.  However, they do happen. Because they do, it is important that someone who knew the deceased person view the body and confirm the identity.

Families should insist on it.

In this case, the family only held a funeral. Other cases of mistaken identity have been discovered during or after an estate administration, which creates even more legal difficulties.

For more information about estate planning in Orlando, FL (and throughout the rest of Central Florida), visit our estate planning website and be sure to subscribe to our complimentary estate planning e-newsletter while you are there.

Reference: Daily Mail (June 24, 2017) "Outrage as father is told his homeless son is dead and buries him in $20k funeral - only to be told 11 days later that it was a mistake by the coroner and that his son is very much ALIVE!."