NY Funeral Juris flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Article 34 authority

Article 34 of the New York Public Health Law is the statutory basis for licensing and regulating funeral directors, undertakers, and funeral firms in the state.

Funeral firm registration

A funeral firm must hold a current registration and designate a licensed manager; changes in manager, ownership, or location must be reported to the Bureau.

Apprenticeship requirement

Applicants for funeral director licensure must complete a registered apprenticeship of at least one year, generally 2,080 hours, under a licensed funeral director.

Unlicensed practice

Only licensed funeral directors may direct funerals, make arrangements, or embalm; unlicensed practice and operating an unregistered firm are prohibited.

Preneed agreement rules

Preneed funeral agreements must place funds in trust or a regulated insurance product, disclose refund terms, and follow General Business Law Article 25 requirements.

Itemized statement duty

Before providing services, the director must give a written itemized statement listing goods and services selected and the total price.

Grounds for discipline

Fraud, misrepresentation, unprofessional conduct, criminal conviction, and impaired practice are grounds for penalties from reprimand to license revocation.

Record retention

Funeral firms must retain arrangement records, signed statements, and embalming or disposition authorizations for the period required by regulation.

Informed consent to embalming

The director must obtain authorization before embalming and disclose that embalming is generally not required by law absent specific circumstances.

General Price List

Under the FTC Funeral Rule, a General Price List must be given to anyone who asks in person, listing available goods and services and prices.

Casket Price List

A Casket Price List must be shown before casket selection, listing caskets by description and price, including lower-cost alternatives.

Outer container list

Before outer burial container selection, the firm must provide a list of containers with descriptions and prices, including least expensive options.

Cash advance disclosure

Cash advance items are billed at actual cost, with any handling fee disclosed; presenting an unauthorized markup as cost is deceptive.

Referral kickback ban

Directors may not accept or pay undisclosed commissions or kickbacks for referrals to cemeteries, crematories, or related providers.

Confidentiality duty

Client information obtained during arrangements, including health and family details, must be kept confidential and used only for service purposes.

Grief referral

Directors recognize normal grief responses, avoid diagnosis, and refer families to qualified counselors or clergy when distress exceeds routine support.

Religious accommodation

Disposition and preparation practices should respect disclosed religious requirements, within the limits of law and public health rules.

Filing responsibility

The funeral director completes the personal-data portion of the death certificate and files it with the registrar of the district where death occurred.

Medical certification

The attending physician, or medical examiner in reportable cases, completes cause of death; the director may not supply medical cause information.

Cause-of-death sequence

Entry lists immediate cause first, conditions leading to it as due to, and the underlying cause last, with manner of death and interval.

Reportable deaths

Suspected homicide, suicide, accident, poisoning, unattended death, or death without an attending physician must be reported to the medical examiner or coroner.

Burial-transit permit

The registrar issues a disposition permit after the death certificate is filed; burial, cremation, or removal may not occur without it.

Filing deadline

The death certificate must generally be filed with the local registrar within 72 hours of death, subject to the time fixed by statute.

Fetal death certificate

A fetal death certificate is required for products of conception at 20 weeks or more gestation or as otherwise defined by state rule.

Certificate amendment

Corrections to a filed death certificate require an affidavit or amendment through the registrar or State Health Department; original entries are not simply erased.

Preparation room standards

Embalming must occur in a licensed establishment's approved preparation room with required equipment, ventilation, and cleanable impervious surfaces.

Universal precautions

All blood and body fluids are treated as infectious; gloves, gowns, eye protection, sharps safety, and surface disinfection are required.

Transport of remains

Human remains must be moved in an enclosed, leak-proof container and handled to avoid nuisance or public health hazard.

Cremation safety checks

Before cremation, identity must be confirmed, the disposition permit obtained, and pacemakers or hazardous implants removed from the remains.

Refrigeration interval

When remains are held without embalming, refrigeration or embalming is required within the interval set by regulation to prevent decomposition risk.

Biohazardous waste

Funeral establishments must segregate and dispose of biohazardous waste according to state and local health codes and maintain sanitation and pest control.

Interstate shipment

Shipping remains to another jurisdiction requires compliance with the receiving state's rules and may require embalming, a sealed container, and transit permits.