Funeral Disposition

Now that you have read Chapter 8, "Last Rites: Funerals & Body Disposition," respond to the following questions.

1. What is the U.S. Federal Trade Commission 's (FTC) Funeral Rule? Describe how it works, providing examples.

The Funeral Rule requires providers of funeral goods and services to give consumers itemized lists of funeral goods and services that not only state price and descriptions, but also contain specific disclosures. This enables consumers to select and purchase only the goods and services they want, except for those which may be required by law and a basic services fee. Basically, because the family no longer takes care of the deceased themselves, we now leave it in the hands of professionals. With advanced technology and the common person 's lack of knowledge on how to properly prepare a body for a funeral, the FTC has guidelines set in place so that consumers don 't get screwed over in the process. Misrepresentations are prohibited such as embalming, for example, your state law requires either refrigeration or embalming after a certain period of

Our book states, in contrast to other cultures, in the United States funerals or last rites are mainly focused on the survivors. I find this to be somewhat true because of how the public responds with sympathy and support for those left behind by the deceased. However, depending on the survivors of the deceased, for example, my mother and I, we focused on my dad 's last wishes and how he wanted his life to be celebrated with a memorial. Our main focus was to make him proud by following through with his choices in how he wanted to mark his death. Knowing I did everything I could to make him proud helped me cope with the loss. For others, having support and sympathy from family and friends, help them cope. Some might think having a prearranged funeral would better help or allow the survivors to cope with the loss, while others might want the distraction of planning. I suppose it all depends on how one