A Cemeterian's Best Friend,
Part Four 

By Paul Elvig, Cemetery Law Expert-at-Large

"IN ORDER OF DEATH" ... DO YOU JUST STAND IN LINE?

RCW 68.32.110 Order of interment - General.

In a family plot one right of interment may be used for the owner's interment and one for the owner's surviving spouse or state registered domestic partner, if any. Any unoccupied spaces may then be used by the remaining parents and children of the deceased owner, if any, then to the spouse or state registered domestic partner of any child of the owner, then to the heirs at law of the owner, in the order of death.

In the last issue of The Insider we discussed the definition of "Family Plot" and its evolved meaning ... evolved over the last 12 decades. Now we are looking at the Order of Interment offered in the RCW as it relates to a "Family Plot." The content of RCW 68.32.110 (above) for all purposes is divided into two levels of use, (1) Owner's use and that of the surviving spouse/registered domestic partner and, (2) Other family members, i.e. children, parents, heirs at law.

Let's say the owner of a Family Plot purchased six graves in all. Obviously the owner and spouse (or registered domestic partner) are the ones entitled to use any of the six they wish. They may even wish to pre-purchase related goods and services including a memorial. RCW 68.32.110 makes it clear they can do as they wish, all within your rules and regulations of course. Comes now the second part, "in order of death," which dictates other uses. Included in such are the remaining parents of the owner (not often the case), children and their spouse or registered domestic partner and the "heirs at law." (We discussed heirs at law in the August 5^th issue of The Insider.)  

Comes now the big question ... or should we say big headache ... If "in order of death" be the lawful case, how can those so listed pre-purchase goods and services assigning such to a specific grave within that Family Plot? Another big question concerns the spouse of the child just buried who is still living; how can that surviving spouse be assured that he/she will get to use the grave next to their deceased spouse? Considering how many persons could line up for use at the time of death you might face a real knock-down-drag-out in following the details of RCW 68.32.110 . Is there an answer to the questions just asked? Unfortunately the referenced statue does not answer this question.

Dealing with the unanswered questions offered might just best be dealt within the cemetery's rules and regulations. While the law doesn't say you can deal with such via rules and regulations, it doesn't say you can't. Thus using your head (my favorite approach) I would turn to writing rules to cover a child's spouse next-to arrangements. One might even consider using rules and regulations to cover the pre-purchase of goods and services for those still living who plan to use the unoccupied graves in question. Your rules might want to spell out how agreements between those entitled to use graves "in order of death" be worked out in advance. It's safe to say RCW 68.32.110 leaves a big hole in application of its wording. Don't you just love reading law?!

We'll be back in the Insider soon with even more scintillating cemetery selections from Title 68 RCW.  

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How can normal people with businesses to run and family lives to enjoy find the time to navigate the muddy waters of Washington politics, legislation and regulation? I addressed this topic in my presentation at the CANA Annual Convention, held in Washington, D.C. Since government is the No. 1 business in this city, it seemed appropriate to offer some pointers for people who want to make their opinions heard in Washington but aren't sure of the best way to do it.

I have to thank ICCFA Government and Legal Affairs Committee Chairman Irwin Shipper for giving me the idea of urging members to become their own lobbyists, as he talked about in the August-September issue of our magazine.

On Capitol Hill, nobody cares that your organization represents, say, 100,000 people. the politicians just want to know how many of those people are their constituents. This means that lobbying for the ICCFA is not a spectator sport. The more individual members who make themselves known to their Congressional delegation, the more effective our efforts on Capitol Hill will be.

With that goal in mind, here are 10 easy steps to take to prepare yourself to be a lobbyist for your own business and for the ICCFA, too.

1. Become qualified. This is perhaps the simplest of the 10 points. There are no qualifications to become a lobbyist in our nation's capitol. You become a lobbyist because you say you are. Let's move on.

2. Don't rely on the news media. Despite the presence of 24/7 news today, do not rely on the news media for your data in support of or opposition to pending legislation or a proposed regulation from a federal agency. The media often misstates the purpose of a bill or omits important information that could change your opinion on the proposal.

3. Bookmark Thomas.loc.gov/home/Thomas.php. This is your gateway for finding bill numbers, the text of bills, bill summaries, names of bill sponsors and Congressional committee action on each bill. It's also free.

4. Learn what a bill actually says before expressing your opinion. Despite Rep. Nancy Pelosi's famous remark, "But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what's in it," it is best to learn the provisions of a bill prior to lobbying for or against it. Read the actual text of the bill or at least an official summary before coming to an opinion on it. And to repeat No. 2, don't depend on the news media to do your homework for you.

5. Establish your credibility by using actual bill numbers. Everyone you may contact on Capitol Hill will ask you for the bill number of the legislation you are talking about. If you don't know it, you won't have credibility with the people you are trying to influence, no matter how much enthusiasm you show.

6. Bookmark www.house/gov/representatives. You can easily locate your House representative by entering your zip code, and you will be linked directly to his or her website containing email and phone contacts, and a list of the representative's committee assignments.

7. Bookmark www.senate.gov. You can easily locate your two senators by state, and you will be linked directly to his or her website containing email and phone contacts, and a list of the senator's committee assignments.

8. Bookmark www.govtrack.us. This free tool states, "Easily track the activities of Congress" and they aren't kidding. Great tool!

9. Cross-check your representative/senators' committee assignments with the committee(s) to which the bill you're interested in has been referred. If your representative or senator is on that committee, voice your opinion right away, before the committee vote.

10. Keep on top of your Congressional representatives' overall voting records. Want to know how liberal or conservative the members of your Congressional delegation really are? That's easy to check, and often very enlightening. For the liberal rating, go to www.adaction.org and click on "Voting Record." For the conservative rating, go to www.conservative.org and click on "Legislative ratings." You may be surprised to discover that some of your representatives in Congress don't vote the way they talk.

Article by ICCFA General Counsel Robert M. Fells, Esq, sourced from ICCFA Magazine for Nov. 2013.

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Saying Goodbye to a Deer Friend 

When Ella the deer was discovered in Elmwood Cemetery in 2011, no one expected her to touch as many hearts as she did in her tragically short life.

"Somewhere beyond the sink hole, past the magnolia, under the live oaks, a boy and a yearling run side by side, and are gone forever." - Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, "The Yearling"

What a gift.

It's a statement John Weilert, president of The Elmwood Cemetery Society board of trustees, says over and over again.

What other word could be used to describe a deer that found her way into an inner-city cemetery in Kansas City, Mo., made it her home, and in her short life touched countless lives?

"At this point, I don't think you can think about Elmwood without thinking about Ella," Weilert said. "They are interwoven...she was our special gift."

A gift that was lost far too soon.

On Aug. 4, Ella was found dead, shot once through the right shoulder. Her body was found lying near Armour Chapel, the place where Ella could often be found holding vigil as weddings and funerals were performed inside. The person responsible is still at-large.

"I cried when I heard the news...it was such a terrible blow to us," Weilert said. "She was such a gentle creature. It's hard to fathom why anyone would do something like that."

From the start, Ella was an improbable gift to the cemetery. Born Memorial Day weekend 2011, the newborn was discovered curled up in the courtyard of a family mausoleum. Her mother had wandered into Elmwood and given birth to the doe.

Although the mother deer was killed outside the cemetery several months later, Ella (who was given her name by two young girls) remained on the grounds, quickly becoming the "official greeter" of the 43-acre cemetery.

"It didn't seem possible... a deer calling an inner-city cemetery home, but that's exactly what happened," Weilert said. "Ella became an integral part of Elmwood."

Initially shy, it didn't take long before Ella began taking an interest in people. "In the beginning she'd stand at a distance... when we moved about the grounds, she'd follow," Weilert recalled. "We let her take it at her own pace, and the distance she kept began to shorten."

Ella was falling in love with people... and people were falling in love with Ella. It didn't take long for news of this special cemetery deer to spread, and young and old alike started visiting Elmwood for a chance to see, take photos and for a lucky few, touch Ella. Art5 classes sought her out as a subject for paintings and drawings.

Ella basked in that glow of attention. "She was a great ambassador for the cemetery," Weilert said. "People read or heard about Ella and wanted to come see our very special resident."

There was no question that Ella was intuitive, that she knew when she was needed. On numerous occasions she would appear at gravesites to comfort the bereaved. She would be there with military honor guards at veterans' burials. And there was nary a wedding or funeral she would miss at Armour Chapel. "She brought so much light-not just to the cemetery but to all she came in contact with," Weilert said.

News of Ella's death quickly spread. It wasn't just Elmwood Cemetery that felt the loss-as one local media report described it, the city was mourning the loss of a favoriate friend. "The outpouring was immediate," Weilert said. "We heard from so m any people who shared their stories about Ella... she touched so many people's lives in such a short time."

The investigation into Ella's death is ongoing. In addition, two national protection organizations are offering rewards totaling $6,500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible.

Plans are underway for a special memorial service for Ella, Weilert explained. Amond those who will be invited to the small, private event will be children who attended the summer camp program sponsored by the Great Plains SPCA. The children, Weilert explained, wrote poignant sympathy cards that were delivered to the cemetery. "What we want to do is have the children come and read their cards and then focus on wildlife and loss, death and compassion. At the end, we'll bury Ella's urn."

There will also be a monument erected in Ella's memory. "She was our gift... and she will never be forgotten," Weilert said. "I knew her virtually from the time she was born. Obviously I loved her, but I also admired her. It was with a sense of wonderment that I watched her ability to connect with people. Her life was filled with teachable moments... that was her gift to us."

Additional information about Ella and her monument is available by contacting John Weilert at [email protected].

Source: Article by Patti Martin Bartsche for American Cemetery magazine September 2013.

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National Prearranged Funeral crooks

finally get prison sentence

 Six people who turned a prepaid funeral company into "an enormous Ponzi scheme" that cost victims more than $450 million were sentenced here Thursday to prison terms from 18 months to 10 years.

The owner of National Prearranged Services Inc., James "Doug" Cassity, 67, along with his son, Brent Cassity, 46, and former chief financial officer Randall K. Sutton, 68, all could have faced life terms under federal sentencing guidelines.

But they and two others struck plea deals in June and July that guaranteed less time in prison. As it was, the Cassitys, of Clayton, and Sutton, of Chesterfield, were sentenced to the top of the range specified in their agreements. Doug Cassity received nine years and seven months; Brent Cassity got five years; and Sutton got seven years.

A company lawyer, Howard Wittner, 75, of Chesterfield, faced up to five years and received three. Longtime employee Sharon Nekol Provice, 69, of Ballwin, faced three years and got 18 months.

The only defendant to go to trial, former investment adviser David Wulf, 61, of St. Louis County, was convicted at trial in August on 18 counts, including bank fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy. Had he pleaded guilty, he would have faced five years or less. U.S. District Judge Jean Hamilton gave him 10 years.

Hamilton ordered the Cassitys, Sutton, Wulf and Province to pay restitution of $435 million, the balance of the loss after assets were forfeited. Wittner was ordered to repay $10.5 million. The prospect of significant repayments to the more than 97,000 victims appears remote. A civil suit is pending. The losses fall upon funeral plan customers, funeral homes, insurers and financial institutions. Some testified at Thursday's sentencing hearings - in a courtroom overflowing with victims, investigators, court staff and families and friends of the defendants.

Marty Meyers, of the Meyers Funeral Chapel in Blue Springs, Mo., walked slowly forward, pinning each defendant with an angry glare on the way. Meyers said the scam "devastated our family." He explained that his funeral home was one of the most damaged, with losses of $3.2 million to $4 million. "All the partying and carrying on that they did ... that was our money," he said.

The Cassitys pleaded guilty to mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and other charges. Sutton pleaded guilty to charges of bank fraud, mail fraud, money laundering and insurance fraud.

Wittner pleaded guilty to two counts of making false statements intended to deceive insurance regulators, and to willfully permitting a felon to engage in the insurance business. That refers to Doug Cassity's past conviction for investment fraud. Wittner admitted lying to state regulators and concealing the source of money used to buy a medical malpractice insurer.

Province pleaded guilty to six counts of mail fraud, wire fraud and misappropriation of insurance premiums.

At times, the feeling in the courtroom was tense, with victims and defendants in close proximity.

Link here for the full article.

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Not Sharing Bottom-Line Costs with Staff

Can Cost 

While employees don't need to see P&L statements, they do need to know what it costs to keep the firm's doors open per day.

The reality is that after interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization have been accounted, the average funeral home is only making about five percent. For the size of investment most owners have in their firm, that number is not a large return on investment.

Take your firm's total expenses from last year's P&L and divide it by 365 to determine your daily cost of operations.

Do your employees know how your firm's pricing works?

Do they actually know what your firm's overhead is, or do they think the firm is making large amounts of money?

Without knowing the true cost of running the business, arrangement staff may have a difficult time explaining pricing to the clients. While arrangers should not disclose confidential information that has been shared with them by the firm, knowing the cost of running a business helps them better explain the cost of operations.

Today's consumer is more financially savvy than that of years ago. They want to know they are not overcharged. This factor is even more critical for business if there are discount or low-end funeral providers nearby.

And employees want to help those consumers. A frequent problem arises when an employee making $45,000 per year is working with a family spending more than 25 percent of that on a funeral. That's a lot of money! Many arrangers are caregivers and not money driven. And they will often, albeit subconsciously, keep the services and merchandise lower than the consumer is actually willing to spend.

The challenge comes in training and ensuring staff understands that the cost of services selected is justified and necessary to keep the firm moving forward. When staff realizes and understands that the fees charged are fair and justified, they will convey that to the consumer. The problem arises when the staff believes the fees are too high. That belief can even transfer through verbal and nonverbal cues to the customer.

The problem arises when the staff believes the fees are too high.

In locations with multiple arrangers, certain arrangers normally have higher averages. Why? Because they understand the pricing and are not timid to present the different options to the consumer.

Training is different at every firm. One could have a staff meeting, use a train-the-trainer method or have different staff members mentor others. There is no turnkey system to staff training. But training to make sure staff understands the pricing enables them to better serve the consumer and maintain profitability for their firm.

Article by Jim Starks, CFuE, CCrE sourced from Funeral and Cemetery News for December 2013. The author is president of J. Starks Consulting in Lutz, FL, and a nationally-recognized trainer on funeral home and crematory risk management. For information contact Jim at 813-765-9844 or [email protected]. 

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Link here to a draft copy of the Dec. 10, 2013 meeting minutes.

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North Carolina funeral service board

misspends money

The North Carolina Board of Funeral Service wants more money-a lot more-in the form of fees on funeral homes that may be passed on to consumers. But a state audit and an analysis by the INDY suggest the board has plenty of money but mismanages it-a finding that could force the fee increases to undergo legislative review.

The funeral service board has given double-digit raises to many of its staff, including the wife of the head of a North Carolina funeral industry trade group. This is according to documents obtained by the INDY and public comments from former board staff and a director submitted to a legislative committee.

The funeral board also purchased a $1 million office condo in Raleigh, instead of leasing cheaper space, and spent excessive amounts of money on car allowances for funeral home and crematorium inspectors.

The funeral board's $1 million budget is pegged to fees it collects from funeral establishments, crematoriums, pre-need contracts and training examinations.

The financial situation emerged in May, after the state auditor found that inspectors were not adequately monitoring and following up on facilities with deficiencies. Too much time had lapsed between inspections; instead of two- and three-year cycles, some funeral homes had not been inspected in four to eight years.

In response, the funeral board used the audit findings to ask for "significantly" higher fees-as high as 87 percent-on the state's 751 licensed funeral establishments and 110 crematories. The money would ostensibly be used to hire a fourth inspector for $85,000-$134,000 a year.

Link for the complete article, originally published in the online news source Raleigh-Cary Durham-Chapel Hill INDY WEEK for 10/30/13. 

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10 Tips for Community Involvement:

Advice from Experts

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EATON RAPIDS, Mich. - A leading provider of software and mapping solutions to the cemetery industry since 1979, Pontem Software is pleased to announce its strategic partnership with webCemeteries.com which makes possible the integration of Pontem's Burial Data Manager, Online Burial Search, and GIS mapping features with webCemeteries.com's Living Memorials and suite of cemetery mobile applications.

This new partnership has been marked by the successful launch of a collaborative project for the City of Winter Park (FL) cemeteries. Pontem's Online Burial Search, hosted on the city's website now features a Living Memorial Page for each person where families can share memories, stories, photos and videos of their loved ones. Winter Park's branded mobile app allows visitors to search for an individual, receive GPS navigation to the grave, and view Living Memorial page information.

In addition to these public services, Pontem cemetery clients can also now leverage mobile technology for their field work. Using webCemeteries.com's integrated Field Office and Tree mobile applications, cemetery staff can use GPS navigation, view scanned documents, create work orders, upload inspection photos, view available inventory, survey trees and record tree maintenance issues all from the field.

The Winter Park project has been received with enthusiasm by cemetery visitors and garnered considerable positive news coverage from local media outlets including the Orlando Sentinel and the local Fox News TV affiliate.

To see the app in action, search for "WPC Explorer" on any Android or iPhone. The application also is accessible via any Android-based or iPad tablet device.

Based in Eaton Rapids, MI, Pontem Software (www.pontem.com) provides a complete line of flexible, affordable, easy to use cemetery records management software solutions for more than 600 municipal, private and religious cemeteries large and small across North America. Products include a powerful data manager with integrated image and document management, integrated Standard or Esri (TM)-engineered GIS mapping, an online burial search with genealogical and location information, a self-serve kiosk option, data and mapping conversion services, and more.

webCemeteries.com is based out of Virginville, PA. Over the past seven years the company has worked with hundreds of cemeteries across America, offering custom cemetery technology solutions including on-site document scanning, online GPS Living Memorials, and cemetery mobile applications. Learn more at www.webcemeteries.com 

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Welcome New Member:

Rainier Room, Hospitality Venue 

We have again joined forces with the International Cemetery, Cremation & Funeral Association's Music Coalition. We are pleased to inform you that your membership in the Washington Cemetery, Cremation & Funeral Association now entitles your company to music licensing with ASCAP, BMI and SESAC for only $258 for the 2014 calendar year. If you have not already purchased or renewed your Music License for 2012, simply complete the 2014 Music License Application and return it to ICCFA with payment, and your music license requirement for 2014 will be covered. Please note that the $258 price will be in effect until January 25, 2014. After January 25, the price increases to $270 per location.  

Click here for application form.

Music licensing is the law, and failure to obtain a license where one is required can be costly: Copyright law provides for damages similar to fines of up to $30,000 for each song that is infringed. If your cemetery, regardless of size, hosts performances of copyrighted music - whether the music is performed live or played from recordings - music copyright owners say you are legally required to pay an annual licensing fee.

As a partner in the Music License Coalition, WCCFA now provides our member companies the opportunity to be in full compliance with the law and ensure you are covered for any music a client family might request. Licensing directly with the agencies this year would cost nearly $600 per location, so the Coalition price, which requires no additional membership fee, is still the lowest available in the funeral industry.

Click here for application form.

The Music License Coalition is a partnership of numerous associations representing the cemetery, cremation and funeral service industry and administered by the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association. Its goal is simply to continue to attract more licensees, thereby increasing compliance within the profession and qualifying for even bigger volume discounts in the future - so your company can save even more money!

Click here for application form.

Please note that if you receive another 2014 Music License Coalition Renewal notice for $258 licensing from another Coalition organization, you only need to pay once and you can simply remit payment with whichever invoice you choose. Some cemeteries may be on more than one Music License Coalition partner membership list. As long as you pay the low $258 fee for each location where music is played, you can rest assured your company will be covered with ASCAP, BMI and SESAC for 201 4.

Click here for application form.

If you have any questions, please call us at 360.668.2120. We look forward to your participation and support of the WCCFA/Music License Coalition program.

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The Future is Bright for

Independent Funeral Homes

Just when many owners are standing around wringing their hands, wondering if they will be able to stay afloat financially, or go under like the Titanic, some old undertaker from a one horse town in Maine comes along and makes this outlandish statement. Can he be taken seriously?

Tom Lord, author of the new book 101 battle tested P/R Strategies for Independent Funeral Homes says funeral directors have always been masters at adapting to radical change. Following the Civil War, they had to learn the art of embalming without any embalming colleges. Not long after that, they had to adjust to an entirely new and different concept: the funeral "home." Those who were not asleep prospered. Cement vaults and sealed metal caskets were not common until after WWII. A few years after that cremation gained a toehold. The FTC and OSHA caused many funeral directors to panic by imposing strict regulations on the industry. Honest funeral directors benefitted greatly. Others were forced to clean up their act. It was difficult, but independent operators adjusted to the conglomerates, retail casket stores and telemarketing. Currently, most funeral homes have a computer, website and email. They had to adapt, or "go under."

Credibility? As president of a small firm in a bedroom community, doing fifty some calls a year, the author's funeral home faced a constant life or death battle competing directly with seven top flight funeral homes and a branch chapel. These strategies helped propel that little firm to over two hundred calls a year by the time the partners retired. Any funeral director can do much better than that by applying the strategies spelled out in the book.

The author introduces a unique approach to pre-planning funerals that could change the way they are conducted for years to come. Lord does not advocate sailing off into uncharted waters. Instead, he urges owners to "get to know the ropes" (understand basic P/R), then take a little different "tack" now and then. These guidelines are the result of years of plotting a course, marking the reefs and shoals, testing the waters, and perfecting the strategies.

A funeral business is built on one solid relationship at a time. The book suggests several effective ways to develop them exponentially. There are few opportunities for a funeral director to seize a competitive advantage and hold on to it for any length of time. Knowledge is power. By applying these strategies, an owner will be able to gain that edge in several different areas. The competition will be bewildered at what you are able to accomplish, and helpless to compete in any meaningful way. The status and prestige in your community will increase significantly.

Lord clings tenaciously to his claim that this is the most effective public relations program ever to be offered to the funeral profession and he reminds owners that many opportunities are sailing by their door while they snooze in front of the TV. Lord urges them to "wake up, don't miss the boat." There will be rough sailing ahead, but barring a total meltdown of the United States economy, independent funeral directors will be able to "batten down the hatches" and weather any storm. To learn more visit www.trafford.com or email [email protected].

Sourced from Funeral Home & Cemetery News for December 2013.

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Changing Lives Through Laughter:

What do you want to find under your Christmas tree? 

Call for Speakers!

The 2012 mortality data for Washington State has been finalized.  Attached you will find three reports:  1) counts by funeral home, 2) counts by autopsy and disposition by county of residence, and 3) counts by autopsy and disposition by county of occurrence.

Please feel free to contact me if your e-mail address has changed or if you would like to have anyone else from your facility or department receive these reports.  Also let me know if there is anything else I can assist you with.

Amy

Amy J. Poel

Epidemiologist

Center for Health Statistics

PO Box 47814

Olympia, WA 98504

Phone:  (360) 236-4326

Fax:  (360) 753-4135

[email protected]

Physical Location:  101 Israel Road SE (Town Center 1) Tumwater, WA

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Do you have a job position to fill?

Cemetery or funeral home equipment to sell?

Are you looking for a job?

Classified ads for WCCFA members are FREE.

Send your information to the WCCFA at [email protected] 

Lake Washington Institute of Technology is seeking a part-time embalming instructor.

Link here for complete information.