CCS Ethical and Professional Standards 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A funeral home asks the crematory to hold remains indefinitely because the family has not paid. What is the best ethical practice?
- Follow written policy and state law on unclaimed remains, and keep trying to contact the authorizing agent (Correct answer)
- Throw the remains away after 30 days
- Sell the urn and scatter the remains
- Mail the remains without notice
Correct answer: Follow written policy and state law on unclaimed remains, and keep trying to contact the authorizing agent
Unclaimed remains have to be handled according to state law and disclosed policy, with documented efforts to reach the family.
Question 2: Under the FTC Funeral Rule, when must a General Price List be given?
- Only if asked in writing
- At the start of any in-person discussion of arrangements, merchandise, or prices (Correct answer)
- Only after the contract is signed
- Only for full-service funerals
Correct answer: At the start of any in-person discussion of arrangements, merchandise, or prices
The GPL must be given at the beginning of face-to-face discussions about arrangements or prices.
Question 3: A staff member tells a grieving family that state law requires embalming before cremation, but it doesn't. This is:
- An acceptable sales technique
- Required by industry standards
- Fine if embalming is discounted
- A misrepresentation banned by the FTC Funeral Rule (Correct answer)
Correct answer: A misrepresentation banned by the FTC Funeral Rule
The Funeral Rule forbids claiming embalming is legally required when it isn't.
Question 4: A cremationist's relative dies and the cremationist wants to handle the case personally. What is the most professional approach?
- Skip identification steps since the decedent is known
- Cremate it after hours with no records
- Waive all documentation
- Follow every standard procedure without exception, or let a colleague handle it (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Follow every standard procedure without exception, or let a colleague handle it
Personal connections never justify skipping identification or documentation, and stepping aside avoids a conflict of interest.
Question 5: Which item should be confirmed on the authorization form to protect the family's wishes?
- The operator's preferred retort
- The crematory's fuel supplier
- Disposition of cremated remains and any personal effects or implants (Correct answer)
- The staff schedule
Correct answer: Disposition of cremated remains and any personal effects or implants
The authorization records what happens to the remains, personal items, and medical devices.
Question 6: An operator notices that a coworker routinely skips the identification check at intake. What is the ethical response?
- Ignore it to avoid conflict
- Report it through the proper channels so it can be corrected (Correct answer)
- Do the coworker's checks without saying anything
- Post about it online
Correct answer: Report it through the proper channels so it can be corrected
Professional responsibility includes reporting practices that put correct identification at risk.
Question 7: Professional cremation codes of ethics most consistently emphasize:
- Maximizing the number of cremations per day
- Lowest possible operating cost
- Minimizing contact with families
- Dignity, respect, honesty, and accurate identification of every decedent (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Dignity, respect, honesty, and accurate identification of every decedent
Respect for the dead and honesty with the living are at the core of cremation ethics codes.
