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Do you know your LAST rights?
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Posted by amgallon Wed Nov 30, -0001 00:00:00 PST
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0 responses 0 comments Do you know your LAST rights?

Did you know you don't have to buy a casket for cremation? Did you know embalming isn't usually required by law?
  
Don't worry if this is news to you — surveys show most adults don't know their rights when it comes to funeral arrangements. But what you don't know can cost you.

That's why the Kern Memorial Society is very proud to be hosting Joshua Slocum, executive director of the national organization Funeral Consumers Alliance, at our March 11 annual luncheon meeting in Bakersfield. 

The Kern Memorial Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting a consumer’s right to choose a meaningful, dignified and affordable burial or cremation. Many residents of the Northwest are already members, and they welcome the public to join them for this informative luncheon.
 
Slocum, a nationally recognized authority on consumer rights and funeral law, will discuss:

• Your rights in the funeral transaction that are protected by the Federal Trade Commission.

• How to avoid expensive sales pitches and spend your funeral dollars wisely.

• How to plan ahead for survivors without locking your money up in risky, prepaid funeral plans widely advertised by mortuaries and insurance companies.

"Families have more rights than they realize, but if you don't know what they are, you're a ripe target for a costly send-off," Slocum said. "Even worse, Funeral Consumers Alliance finds that more than half of funeral home price lists don't offer families the options and information federal regulations require. That's why consumer information groups such as the Kern Memorial Society are so important."

Kern Memorial Society is one of more than 100 nonprofit funeral consumer information societies nationwide that make up Funeral Consumers Alliance, based in Burlington, Vt. Slocum, a former newspaper reporter, has appeared on the CBS Early Show and in other national media to discuss funeral consumer rights. He is also the author of a feature article on funeral fraud for the April, 2004, Consumers Digest Magazine.

For more information about Kern Memorial Society, contact President Irene Heath at 872-0272.

The March 11 luncheon will be held at Bill Lee’s Bamboo Chopsticks at 11 a.m. Cost is $15 per person. Please send reservation checks to Kern Memorial Society, P. O. Box 1202, Bakersfield, CA 93302-1202 by March 7. The public is cordially welcomed.

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