Final Rights
Reclaiming the American Way of Death
August 5, 2011
by Lisa Carlson
I traveled to Sullivan, Indiana this week to see if I could help a young man fight an outrageous funeral bill. His wife, a housekeeper at a local hotel, died suddenly in June ’09, with no insurance or benefits. She was the sole bread-winner, as he is disabled with a back injury. The funeral director was fully aware of the financial circumstances yet behaved illegally and unethically in order to crank up the bill. A brother-in-law contributed $500, and the family got $1,000 from the county. The funeral director refused time payments. In November ’09, the funeral director went to Small Claims Court for the balance of the $6,900 funeral bill.
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