Predators in the funeral Industry:Cemetery Lawsuit-YourFuneralGuy

A Georgia Cemetery Owner was called a Predator by a Judge recently.

Revealed now  is a recent illustration predators in the funeral business. An Owner a group of cemeteries stopped all competitor vaults(concrete and other) from being sold at his cemeteries. He then raised the prices on his own inexpensive vault.

If you expect to come in under the average cost of a funeral you need to avoid predators in the funeral business or industry.

This is an example of predators in the industry. The cemetery owner in this case was taking advantage of his customers and his competition a lawsuit was filed  which brought on a court order.

This was brought in to the light by a news article in Augusta Georgia.

From chronicle.augusta.com

ARTICLE TITLED:

“Judge blocks cemetery owner’s plan to ban concrete vaults”

“In essence, Mr. Nikola is a business predator and has acted in bad faith,” Brannen ruled in an order filed May 19. “He bought cemeteries in an effort to make a profit to the detriment of those he claims to serve.”

If you are a funeral professional do not be a predator. If you are a consumer do your best not to do business with funeral predators.

Funeral Industry Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy, Funeral Director, Illinois, Virginia.

Unemployment High:Will Scatter Ashes for Money.-YourFuneralGuy

With unemployment high folks are taking to scattering ashes for money. Now all kinds of folks are doing this.

All Kinds of Folks are entering the Ashes Scattering Biz Ashes are scattered after the cremation process is complete.

Entering  Funeral Scattering  biz around the country are Funeral Directors and others. Crematories, Funeral homes,  boat owners, small plane operators and naturalists are all participating. It is all happening by air, land and sea.

“From the Bend Bulliten“

Rusty Wilkerson, the owner of Wing and a Prayer, uses his 1947 Stinson to scatter ashes over a place that held significance to the deceased.

“There are a lot of people that want the service, but they’re still alive. That poses a problem.”

It does if you have a business scattering people’s cremated remains from an airplane, says Randal “Rusty” Wilkerson, a 46-year-old pilot living in Bend.

When I practiced as a funeral director in Virginia, directors on their days off would scatter ashes by air, and sea for money.

Consider Scattering Ashes when doing a funeral arrangement. Instead of hiring someone it just may be scatter the ashes of your loved one yourself. It will save you money.

Funeral Industry| Funeral Blog by your Funeral Guy- R Brian Burkhardt, author

Your Funeral Guy: Exposing the Funeral Cost Scam-by World Famous Author

In March  a Creative work exposing the Funeral Industry and your funeral cost will be published by a world famous author. The story is a creative mystery and it addresses problems in the funeral industry.

‘The Undertakers Tale” will Rock the Funeral Industry with humor and creativity and expose charlatan behaviors. I have not read the story but because of the author’s world wide status it will be good. This author is very creative so I do not believe that the current Illinois Funeral Directors Association (IFDA)Scandal-Alleged Ponzi  scheme or the National Prearranged Services (NPS) scandal  will be addressed. There are rumors of another  eastern exposure of these recent events.

The best selling author has a large number books published and was at one time the most popular author in the United States of America. I am the author of a book on the funeral industry and will never be as  famous as the “Undertaker Tale” guy. Neither will anyone else alive today.

You see the famous author is Mark Twain.

Funeral Cost/Funeral Industry Blog- Your Funeral Guy.-R.Brian Burkhardt
funeral cost

Information on the upcoming story is here.

Your Funeral Guy: Funeral Industry/Preneed Begs To Be Regulated.

The funeral and preneed industry is begging to be regulated. They are realing from the NPS Preneed Trust Scandal (national prearranged services) and the IFDA Preneed Trust Scandal Illinois Funeral Directors Association  from Last Year.

The problem is you cannot squeeze the toothpaste back in the tube. I believe the reputation of the funeral industry is now beyond recovery unless there is the bold move of making money on a lot of low cost funerals is made. Many funeral homes will have to adapt this strategy just to survive.

An interesting article was recently posted on this in Missouri the home of the National Prearranged Services disaster entitled:

Pre-need funeral legislation requires providers “be of good moral character”

Problem is you cannot legislate good moral character. when the reputation is gone the reputation is gone.

Here is a quote from the article:

“I don’t know of any other profession … (that) has come to the legislature to say, ‘Please regulate our industry more, please audit us more, please investigate us more because we want to make sure the public is confident in our industry and in our profession and in the whole pre-need process,’” said Donald Otto, executive director of the Missouri Funeral Directors Association.

Blog by Your Funeral Guy

Rember to find the IFDA and NPS  info at

http://www.lowercostfuneral/rbrianblog

Author

Your Funeral Guy: Downsizing a Funeral

Downsizing a Funeral helps you to come in under the average cost of  a funeral. this has been happening since the economic downturn. Folks are still doing funerals but for less funeral cost.

Another author on funerals besides myself was recently quoted about  shopping for a funeral and paying less.

Robert Webster whose book (“Will they see me naked when I die?) that has become fairly popular is pictured below.

I have no connection with Mr.Webster other than reading the book and writing a review on Amazon about the work. Most folks are concerned about an explicit section of the book on human  body parts. Webster explores his experiences as a funeral director, and presents the mindset of the funeral director. He offers no money saving tips on funerals.

Here is what Mr. Webster said when he noticed the downsizing of Funerals.

“We get one to three calls a day to say (they’re) price shopping,” said Robert Webster of Webster Funeral Home.

Webster, who has written a book on the business, said less expensive options such as cremation have become increasingly popular.

“Everybody says there’s no economic downturn, the funeral business is recession-proof, well it’s not true,” Webster said. “People are still going to die, they’re not spending like they used to in the past.”

The full article can be found here.

Downsizing in Louisiana also seems to be occurring.

Despite the economic downturn, there’s still one industry that will always have a steady supply of paying customers, the funeral industry. Steve Newman, General Manager of Rabenhorst Funeral Home, says the average cost of a funeral is $7,500. Add in the burial plot and expenditures can exceed $10,000 or more.

Some funeral homes across the country are actually offering discounts, burial plans for as low as $1,700 in some cases. They say customers are searching for the best deals they can find.

For the Louisiana situation view the article on the web.

The Louisiana average cost of a funeral may very well be $7,500.00USD. My research indicates the average cost of a funeral  nation wide to be $8,500.00USD.

Blog By Your Funeral Guy

Your Funeral Guy: Three Funeral Cost Traditions

Funeral cost Traditions often are costing you funeral dollars. Research indicates the following. 1. The average funeral home has been around for 59 years.2. Most funeral homes are not on the internet. 3.  most multi-site funeral homes  practice redlining.

1. The average funeral home has been around for fifty nine years. The book :The Loved One” written over 40 years ago is still current. The internal dysfunction of funeral homes is basically still the same. The pet cemetery movement was born in “The Loved One” with the “Happy Hunting ground”  Fifty nine years means lots of tradition. Collectively in the Funeral Industry it means resistance to change. This is another reason why it it is sometimes difficult to come in under the average cost of a funeral.

2. Most Funeral Home owners have no internet exposure. The ones who do have often have not current or archaic websites. This all keeps the average cost of a funeral high because it is time consuming to shop around.

3. Most corporate and group  funeral homes practice redlining. That is they have different prices  and different names for items such as caskets and urns for different locations. This makes price shopping difficult and sends the average cost of a funeral up.

We will continuing blogging here until the Shopping for a Funeral series is complete. Funeral payoffs in the United States Senate are quite common. Roland Burris is not the first guy in the Congress connected to the funeral industry.

All the heat here is high I am not yet prepared to cremate this blog. The blog will be moved in 2009.

Sometimes individuals and organizations need to be addressed when speaking about funeral cost.

Your funeral Guy, Author,

Your Funeral Guy: Sad for Funeral Cost/Industry.

The Blagojevich, Burris, IFDA  triangle presents a sad situation for funeral cost and the funeral industry  This whole scenario brings grief  to the funeral industry and your funeral cost. The Governor Blagojevich situation is appalling.

The fact that Roland Burris and the  IFDA  were  in-bed-ed together is disgusting. The 600 establishments  filling a lawsuit against the Illinois Funeral Directors Association is a consequence of it all. The loss in the IFDA Preneed Trust Fund hurts the funeral industry, funeral directors and the public.

This situation overall is bringing a sad bad day to everyone. Funeral Directors are passionate about what they do most often which is their best for their families.

As in any industry when large sums of money are involved, people fail. This is the case with the IFDA, Illinois Funeral Directors Association. Some media are right now trying to present this information so it does not hurt the profession or the funeral industry.

When high profile politicians are involved this becomes increasingly difficult. . When honest professionals are quickly informed they can deal with this sort of thing. They can speak helpfully, with kindness to their customers.

The bottom line is that in most situations you have to sit down with a funeral director and negotiate your funeral cost. It is best to be civil, kind, and firm when you do this.  It is the only way to accomplish a lower cost funeral. All funeral directors are not thieves.

The reality is that the profession is labor intensive. A good portion of funeral directors are overworked and not funeral home owners or executives. When Scandals are reported you the consumer need to be continually reminded of this. I am neither an executive or owner but just another working stiff.

R.Brian Burkhardt.

Blog byYour Funeral Guy, Funeral Director, State of Illinos

“Rest in Peace” author

Your Funeral Guy: Blago, Burris, IFDA-Mismanagement/Corruption

State of Illinios Governor Rod Blagojeich may get Roland Burris into the the United States Senate but it appears that Burris has already had a severe effect on your funeral cost, Essentially the Illinois Funeral Directors Association has stayed clear of corruption charges. Instead it is now being called a 59 Million Dollar Management Debacle.

59 million dollars for a 49,000+ membership is a hec of a lot of money. Here is how it works. Folks in the State of Illinos bought preneed trust pollicies for their funeral. Funeral Directors get  commissions off every policy. According to information sent to me a good number of funeral homes have IFDA Preneed Trust Policies worth $500,000 USD, a million and up to $2,000,000 USD+. Funeral home owners now have greatly reduced commissions.

Six hundred Funeral home establishments have filed lawsuits against the IFDA on the Management of the Preneed Trust. it appears they want to recover losses.

Generally what happens is when funeral directors have their commissions stopped or lowered they become increasingly upset. They raise your funeral cost, by trying to transfer their losses to any working stiff. You the consumer has your funeral cost raised.

Burris comes in to playbecause he was a lobbyist for the Illinois Funeral  Directors Association the long time manager of the IFDA Preneed Trust.

In fact the only one on earth, who could get the current Comptroller of the State of Illinois to say in 2008 “we are  are taking away your License to manage  the IFDA Preneed trust ” -”because we should not have given you the license in the first place” is Roland Burris.

Why? Because Burris was the one to give  the IFDA  their license in the first place. He was Comptoller of the State of Illinois from 1979 to 1991.

The bottom line for you the consumer is not to do Preneed. Preplan but do not prepay. Do a lower cost funeral.

Burris Should not take Barack Obama’s Senate seat. He needs to  declare how much he was paid by the Illinois Funeral Directors Association to lobby away 59 million mismanagement/corruption. He should reveal his connection to the funeral industry.

Please do not do preneed. Do a lower cost funeral instead.

Blog Your Funeral Guy, Author, Funeral Director,  State of Illinois.

Where does Blago come in all this? Your guess is as good as mine

Sources for this post-E-mails from the IFDA and Ashes to Ashes Blog

This news report as well:  USA Today article.

Your Funeral Guy: Average Cost of a Funeral 2009

This blog is dedicated to giving you information on Funeral Cost and the Funeral Industry. In 2008 I declared the average cost of a funeral  to be $8,000,00 plus USD+ for a traditional funeral.  In 2009 I am declaring the average cost of a traditional funeral at $8500.00 USD +.

Most research shows the average cost of a  traditional funeral to be $10,000 USD. Information and facts on this subject are generally controlled by the funeral industry giant, the (NFDA) National Funeral Directors Association. There is other research available but it is hard to come by. Generally the NFDA only issues funeral cost information 2 years back.

This allows the public to be unaware of the real funeral cost. It also prevents a backlash of hostility.

In 2008 figures needed to be revised due to the wall street crisis and economic slowdown.

Factoring in the economic downturn the average cost of a funeral in 2009 is $8500.00 USD+.

My latest research shows more interesting facts on lower cost funerals in 2008:

Average Number of funerals per Funeral Home: 100(down from 112)

Funeral Industry income $15 Billion -up from  11 -12 billion

Average Amount of Income 1 Funeral Employee adds $100,000USD.

The Average Funeral Home makes 1 million in Revenue a year!

The average Funeral Home makes $3,000-$4000USD  per funeral!

Is not it time they shared some money with you?

Do a low cost funeral!

Blog by Your Funeral Guy, author

Sources for ths post are a Canadian National Post Article, Public information on the Funeral Industry, as well as conversations and e-mails with Funeral Industry advocates around the country.

Your Funeral Guy: Wall Street Journal says its in left field-Green Burial/Funeral

Breaking News-Jan 2nd- The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) implies that   Green Burial Folks  are a bunch of left wing, crazies. Lower cost funeral options were not explored. Green Burials are coming to from the the UK just like cremation did in the 1970’s. Traditional funeral industry folks like this one.

The title of the article is:

“Green Revolution Hits Dead End In Georgia Cemetery Proposal

Ms. Collins Thought Natural Burials Were a Killer Idea; Locals Saw Grave Threat”

The article refers to a cult leader who supports the green funeral movement. This in itself is extreme. Referring to Ms Collins somewhat eccentric behaviors implies that all green burial/funeral advocates are that way.

Many green cemeteries are located away from metropolitan areas and towns. This goes a long way to putting an end to water table concerns. There are also leak proof inserts and shrouds available. The Macon- Bibb county  residents objected to leakage into the water table.

What is worse? Embalming fluid in the water table or simple decay? Like it or not Embalmed Bodies eventually decay and yes the embalming fluid (carcinogen) gets into the water table as well.

Some blog reactions on the right saying Amen to this story calling the woman who is the focus of the story moonbat.

Green burial advocates are on the left coast and the right coast. lefties and righties.

Change is always resisted especially by the funeral industry but it always comes.

Blog Your Funeral Guy, Author,