FSE2060 Funeral Directing Midterm Study Guide

What is the lump sum death benefit paid from social security?

$255

Aftercare:

(Post funeral follow-up) those appropriate and helpful acts of counseling, personal and/or written contact that come after the funeral.

Modes of disposition:

- Earth burial - Entombment - Cremation - Anatomical donation (Medical science) - Burial at sea

Epitaph:

A commemorative inscription on a tomb or cemetery marker (with remains present).

Lowering device:

A mechanical device used to lower a casket into a grave for below ground burial.

When taking information for a death call, you should give the family notification of what?

Approximate time of arrival of removal personnel at the location of death. (Don't ever thank them for their business).

Where should pallbearers stand for the interment at the committal service?

At the foot of the casket.

Where is a committal service held?

At the grave site (can also be held at the cemetery chapel, then the family may be permitted to go to the grave site for interment).

Where should the clergy stand for the interment at the committal service?

At the head of the casket.

Cot:

Can collapse into a transfer vehicle and be used by one person to transfer remains.

Dr. Alan Wolfelt's view of memorialization:

Encourages using the deceased's name during ceremonies and believes that it is acceptable to review the circumstances of death (at the ceremony) even if they are traumatic.

Ship-out:

Forwarding remains to another funeral home.

Honorary casketbearer (Honorary pallbearers):

Friends of the family or members of an organization or group who act as an escort or honor guard for the deceased. *They do not carry the casket.*

Another name for obsequies:

Funeral rites, funeral ceremonies.

What phrases should not be used as part of your phone etiquette at a FH?

Good morning, good day, thank you, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, ect.

Artificial grass:

Imitation grass made in mat form and used at the cemetery to cover the earth around the grave.

Do you need a lowering device for cremated remains?

No.

If a decedent has a 32 year old daughter and has contributed to Social Security, what is the benefit?

Nothing, the daughter is not a dependent minor.

Active casketbearer (Pallbearer):

One who actively bears or carries the casket during the funeral service and at the committal service.

If the veteran is buried in a national cemetery, what is the plot allowance?

There is no plot allowance.

Repose:

To lay in state.

A typical cortege is arranged as follows:

- Funeral home lead car with clergy - Officiating clergy, if she is driving her own car - Pallbearers, if they are driving together - Hearse - Closest family members car, often a limo supplied by the FH. - Cars as designated by the family *If honorary pallbearers or a special group is attending, they usually go between the lead car and the hearse*

List the 6 disclosures required by the FTC on the GLP: (This is a short answer question on the exam)

- Right of selection - Basic service fee and overhead - Embalming disclosure - CPL availability - Outer burial container price list availability - Alternative container disclosure

The time limit for a family to file the V.A. Application for Burial Benefit is:

2 years *from the date of cremation or permanent burial*

How long does the family have to file an application for a social security lump sum death benefit?

2 years *from the date of death*.

Register/memorial book:

A book signed by those attending a visitation/service.

Mausoleum:

A building containing crypts or vaults for entombment: an above ground structure for burial.

Retort:

A burning chamber used for cremation.

Memorial park:

A cemetery or section of a cemetery with *only flush to the ground type markers*.

Crypt:

A chamber in a mausoleum, of sufficient size, generally used to contain the casketed remains of a deceased person.

Death notice:

A classified notice publicizing the death of a person, listing survivors and giving those details of the funeral service that the survivors wish to have published. *There IS usually a charge for this announcement*

Post-lude:

A concluding piece of music.

Door badge:

A crepe badge or floral design placed on the door indicating the death of an individual (not often used today).

Chapel:

A designated area of a building where services are conducted.

Casket rack:

A device upon which two or three caskets are placed, one on top of the other for display.

Casket spray:

A floral arrangement which is designed to be placed on the top of a casket.

Non-traditional funeral rite:

A funeral rite that deviates from the normal or prescribed circumstances of established customs.

Primitive funeral rite:

A funeral rite which may be construed as being identifiable with a pre-literate society.

What is a funeral coach used for?

A funeral vehicle used to carry a coffin/casket/urn *from a church or funeral home to a cemetery*.

Crematory (Crematorium):

A furnace of retort for cremating dead human bodies; *a building that houses a retort*.

Plot:

A group of grave spaces, usually under the same property deed.

Catafalque:

A historic term, a device that is very similar in nature to a bier; a device used to support a casket.

Death certificate:

A legal document containing vital statistics, disposition, and final medical information pertaining to the deceased.

Automobile list:

A list of automobiles used in the cortege showing the names of the occupants and position in the cortege.

National cemetery:

A military cemetery containing the graves of U.S. military personnel, veterans and their spouses, but not exclusively so.

Cenotaph:

A monument erected in honor of a dead person whose remains lie elsewhere. Ex: Washington Monument

Bier:

A more permanent device that a casket is set on for a visitation or viewing in the funeral home.

Honorarium:

A nominal compensation or recognition for service performed.

Memorial folder:

A pamphlet made available at the funeral service giving details about the deceased and the funeral arrangements.

Church truck:

A portable device that *folds and unfolds* that a casket is set on for visitation or viewing in the funeral home.

Vigil (wake):

A prayer or scripture service usually held at the funeral home the evening before the funeral.

Arrangement form:

A printed form the funeral home uses specifically for the funeral director and the family to make funeral and financial arrangements

Niche:

A recess or space in a columbarium used for the permanent placing of cremated remains.

Casket selection room:

A room (as in a funeral home) in which caskets are put on display for consumers.

Repose(ing) room:

A room (as in a funeral home) used for the viewing of the deceased by mourners.

Boutonniere:

A spray of flowers worn in a buttonhole sometimes worn by the casketbearers, may be used from flowers already ordered/given or reusing artificial ones.

Colombarium:

A structure, room or space in a mausoleum or other building containing niches or recesses used to hold cremated remains.

Obituary:

An announcement of death that has a biographical sketch of the persons life, listing occupation, organizations, and notable information, sometimes with a photograph. *There is not usually a change for this*

Pre-lude:

An introductory piece of music.

What is a cash advance?

Any item of service or merchandise described to a purchaser as a "cash advance," "accommodation," "cash disbursement," or similar term. Any item obtained from a third party and paid for by the funeral provider on behalf of the purchaser. Items include *cemetery spaces, crematory costs, florist fees, death certificates, transportation/shipment of remains, livery services - limo, hearse, honorariums for musicians and singers, honorariums for clergy or celebrant, death notice fee for newspaper.* A fee can be charged for acquiring a cash advance item.

Burial rites:

Any religious service conducted for the deceased.

Acknowledgment cards:

Cards of thanks and recognition sent to friends for kindness shown to a deceased's family.

Other names for a funeral coach:

Casket coach, hearse

Another name for a funeral procession:

Cortege.

When a veteran dies without having any survivors, who gets the burial flag?

It gets returned to the place of issuance.

Can a person use life insurance to pay for their funeral?

Life insurance is payable to the beneficiary, and can not be paid to the funeral home. *Death* insurance goes to the funeral home

Different names for the entranceway of a funeral home:

Lobby, vestibule, foyer

If a remains is cremated after being donated to medical science, what is the final mode of disposition?

Medical science donation

Officiant:

One who conducts a religious service or ceremony.

Ship-in:

Receiving remains from another funeral home.

Statement of death Social Security form:

SSA-721

Memorial service:

Service conducted *without* the body present.

What is included in a limited service call?

Ship out- forwarding remains to another funeral home. Ship in- receiving remains from another funeral home. (*only disposition services without arranging*, directing, or performing embalming, public viewings, gatherings, memorials, funerals, or related ceremonies)

The most common mode of notification of death is via:

Telephone

Committal service:

That portion of the funeral which is conducted at the place of disposition of dead human bodies. i.e a cemetery.

Where are casket pieces placed?

The closest family members arrangements are placed nearest the casket. A typical display of family flower pieces would include a spray from the spouse on top of the closed foot end or centered behind the open cover on a full couch casket. A basket or spray from the children would be placed at the head end, a basket or spray from the siblings at the foot end, and a flower heart from the grandchildren inside.

Who decides on a headstone in a national cemetery? Who decides on the insignia on the marker?

The department of veterans affairs (VA), the family.

What is a narthex?

The entranceway of a Christian church leading to the nave (main, central and principal part) of the church.

Burial transit permit:

The legal document issued by the proper government agency *authorizing transportation and/or disposition of human remains*. It is issued upon the filing of the completed death certificate with the proper agency. It is *the legal record that final disposition has occurred* (burial, removal or cremation).

Arrangement conference:

The meeting between the funeral director and the client family during which funeral arrangements are discussed.

Procession:

The movement of vehicles from the place of the funeral to the place of disposition.

Recession/recessional:

The movement, in an orderly fashion, at the end of a service.

Beneficiary:

The person to whom the proceeds of a life insurance policy are payable; a person for whose benefit property is held in trust; a person given property *by a will*.

Entombment:

The placing of remains in a crypt in a mausoleum.

Cremation:

The reduction of a dead human body to inorganic *bone fragments* by intense heat in a specifically designed retort or chamber.

Exhume (exhumation):

The removal of a human corpse previously buried in the earth.

A man passes away with no spouse. He contributed to Social Security and has a 13 year old son, what is the benefit?

The son would get the $255 benefit because he is a minor.

Who is eligible to receive the lump sum death benefit?

The surviving spouse if he/she was living with the deceased; or, if living apart, was receiving certain Social Security benefits on the deceased's record. *If there is no surviving spouse*, the payment is made to a child who is eligible for benefits on the deceased's record in the month of death.

What is unique about every headstone in a memorial park?

They are all flat to the ground type markers for ease of maintenance and care of the lawn.

Disinter:

To remove from the grave or tomb; to dig up; *exhume*.

Stretcher:

Two poles with canvas used for carrying an injured or deceased person that requires two people.

What is the death benefit (burial allowance) for an active member of the military? (Service connected death)

Up to $2,000 for active members (does not necessarily mean in battle. Veterans exposed to agent orange in Vietnam may be eligible if the family can demonstrate that the death was related to agent orange exposure.)

What is the death benefit for a *non* service connected death for a veteran?

Up to $700 for funeral and burial.

What is the plot allowance for veterans if they are not buried in a national cemetery?

Up to $700.

The government form used to apply for a headstone:

VA 40-1330

Application for United States flag for burial purposes:

VA form 27-2008

A man that has paid $14,000 to Social Security has passed away, if there is no surviving spouse or children, what is the benefit?

0$, nothing. A person must have a surviving spouse or eligible child to receive a Social Security benefit.

After how many rings should a phone call be answered at the FH?

2

What is the primary purpose of artificial grass in a cemetery?

Physiological and emotional health.

When should the application for a burial flag be filed?

Prior to the burial