Code of Massachusetts Regulations
239 CMR - BOARD OF REGISTRATION IN EMBALMING AND FUNERAL DIRECTING
Title 239 CMR 3.00 - Registration Requirements; Standards of Business and Professional Practice
Section 3.09 - Control Over Arrangements and Disposition of Human Remains
Universal Citation: 239 MA Code of Regs 239.3
Current through Register 1531, September 27, 2024
(1) Every registrant and Licensed Funeral Establishment shall comply with 239 CMR 3.09(1)(a) through (c) with respect to control over funeral arrangements and disposition of human remains:
(a) If a Licensed Funeral Establishment is a
party to a pre-need funeral services contract, as defined in
239 CMR 4.01:
Definitions, for the benefit of the deceased person, and said
contract is still in effect at the time of that person's death, the terms of
that contract shall control the nature of the funeral goods and services to be
provided, the manner in which funeral services are to be conducted for the
deceased, and the final disposition of the deceased person's remains to the
full extent provided in that contract. No Licensed Funeral Establishment, nor
any of its agents or employees, may cancel or materially alter any of the
arrangements specified in that contract, even if requested to do so by a member
of the deceased person's family or any other person, unless:
1. compliance with the terms of the original
contract would result in a violation of any applicable federal, state or local
law or regulation; or
2. the
Licensed Funeral Establishment is ordered to do so by a court of competent
jurisdiction.
(b) Where
there is no pre-need funeral services contract with the Licensed Funeral
Establishment in effect at the time of death for the benefit of the deceased
person, or to the extent that any such contract does not fully specify the
nature of the funeral arrangements to be provided, said License Funeral
Establishment and its agents or employees shall give effect first to any wishes
of the deceased person regarding the nature of the funeral goods and services
to be provided, the manner in which funeral services are to be conducted,
and/or the final disposition of the deceased person's remains, which have been
expressed in any written document which was signed by the deceased person in
the presence of a witness. In the absence of an order from a court of competent
jurisdiction to the contrary, said written document shall be sufficient legal
authorization for implementation of the arrangements specified
therein.
(c) To the extent that
there is no pre-need funeral services contract in effect at the time of death
for the benefit of the deceased person, and no other valid written document
indicating the wishes of the deceased person with respect to the nature of the
funeral goods and services to be provided, the manner in which funeral services
are to be conducted, or the final disposition of the deceased person's remains,
the Licensed Funeral Establishment and its agents or employees shall follow the
directions of the deceased person's surviving kin, in the following order of
priority:
1. the surviving spouse of the
deceased;
2. the surviving adult
children of the deceased;
3. the
surviving parent(s) of the deceased;
4. the surviving brother(s) or sister(s) of
the deceased;
5. the guardian of
the person of the deceased at the time of his or her death;
6. any other person authorized or obligated
by law to dispose of the remains of the deceased.
If there is more than one member of a class, the directions of a majority shall prevail; in the event of a tie, the decision of a court of competent jurisdiction will be necessary. Provided, however, that with respect to receiving authorizations to release a decedent from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner may require different or additional signatures for release.
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