Funeral Law Term Review Flashcards

Abatement

a proportional reduction of a legacy under a will when assets out of
which such legacy are payable are not sufficient to pay it in full

Actual Custody of the Body

the physical possession of the dead human body

Ademption

the extinction or withdrawal of a legacy under a will by an act
equivalent to revocation

Administrative Agency

an appointed governmental body charged with implementing particular legislation

Administrative Law

that body of law created by Federal and State administrative agencies
to implement their powers and duties in the form of rules,
regulations, orders, and decisions (OSHA, FTC, etc.)

Administrator

a man who has been appointed by the court to settle an estate

Administratrix

a woman who had been appointed by the court to settle an estate

Agent Driver

those drivers under the directions and control of a funeral director
who is liable for their actions

American with Disabilities Act (ADA)

a federal statute prohibiting discrimination against the disabled in
employment, public transportation, telecommunications services, and
public accommodations and services operated by private entities

Apprentice/Intern/Resident Trainee

a person engaged in learning the practice of funeral directing and/or
embalming under instruction, direction, or personal supervision of a
duly licensed funeral director and/or embalmer

Bequest (Legacy)

a gift of personal property by will

Body Parts

in the UAGA, parts are defined as "organs, tissues, eyes, bones,
arteries, blood, other fluids and other portions of a human body for
transplantation"; after removal of a body part, without
unnecessary mutilation, the custody of the remainder of the body rests
with the person who otherwise has the right to control final disposition

Brain Death

total and irreversible cessation of brain function as indicated by a
flat EEG reading

Building Code

laws, ordinances, and government regulations setting forth
requirements for construction, maintenance,s operation, occupancy, use
or appearance of buildings

Cadaver

a dead human body intended solely for scientific study and dissection

Case Law

court decisions that establish precedent principles

Clinical Death/ Legal Death

the absence of all vital signs

Codicil

an addition or amendment of a last will and testament executed with
the same formality as the will

Common Carrier

any carrier required by law to convey passengers or freight without
refusal if the approved fare or charge is paid (airline, train, etc.)

Common Law

a system of jurisprudence based on judicial precedents rather than
statutory laws

Constitution

any fundamental or important law or edict

Constructive Custudy

having the authority to control disposition although another party
has physical possession

Creditor's Claim

a legal process used by one wishing to collect a debt from an estate

Cremation

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

Crime (Criminal Act)

an action in violation of constitution, status, or ordinance, e.g.,
treason, felony, misdemeanor

Custodian

a funeral director becomes the legal protector of a dead human body
from the time of removal until final disposition

Dead Human Body (Corpse)

the body of a dead human being, deprived of life, but not yet
entirely disintegrated

Death

a state of complete and irreversible cessation of metabolic processes
leading ultimately to dissolution of the organs

Degree of Kindred

relationship to decedent of his relatives; each generation is one
degree, counting to a common ancestor

Devise

a gift of real estate made by will

Devisee

one who inherits real estate under a will

Disinterment (Exhumation)

the removal of a human corpse previously buried in the earth

Doctrine of Stare Decisis

a policy of courts to stand by a precedent and apply it to all future
cases where the facts are substantially the same; to stand by things decided

Durable Power of Attorney

exists when person executes a power of attorney which will become or
remain effective in the even the or she should later become disabled

Embalmer

a person, properly licensed, who disinfects, preservers, or restores
a dead human body

Eminent Domain

the inherent power of a government to take private property for
public use; in the US just compensation to the property owners is required

Entombment

the placing of a remains in a crypt in a mausoleum

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

a governmental agency with environmental protection regulatory and
enforcement authority

Escheat

forfeiture of a decedent's property to the state in the absence of heirs

Estate

the property of a deceased person, both real and/or personal

Ethics

a set of moral principles or values governing individuals or groups;
conforming to accepted professional standards of conduct

Executor

a man appointed by the will of a deceased person to carry out the
provisions thereof and settle the estate

Executrix

a woman appointed by the will of a deceased person to carry out the
provisions thereof and settle the estate

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

agency of Federal government created in 1914 to promote free and fair
competition by prevention of trade restraints, price fixing, false
advertising, and other unfair methods of competition

Fetal Death

death of a product of conception prior to the complete expulsion or
extraction from its mother

Final Disposition

the conclusive performance of services with respect to the dead human body

Funeral Director

a person properly licensed, engaged in, or conducting, or holding
himself out as being engaged in:
1) preparing, other than by embalming, for the burial or
disposition of dead human bodies,
2) maintaining or operating a funeral establishment for the
preparation and disposition, or for the care of dead human bodies

Funeral Establishment

a place of business used in the care and preparation for the funeral
and/or final disposition of dead human bodies

General Power of Attorney

an instrument in writing authorizing one person to do anything for
the principal; in other words, one party has full power of attorney
for another party

Gross Negligent

the intentional failure to perform a manifest duty in reckless
disregard of the consequences as affecting the life or property of another

Guardian

a judicial appointment of a person to administer the affairs of
another person who is incompetent by virtue of age or legal disability

Heir

one who inherits or is entitled to receive property by law

Holographic Will

a will written entirely by the testator with his own hand

Householder

one who owns or controls real estate where a death occurs

Inheritance

the estate which passes from the decedent to his/her heirs

Insolvent Estate

the condition of the estate of a deceased person which is unable to
pay the debts of the decedent and/or the estate

Interment

the act of placing the dead human body in the ground

Intestate

the state or condition of dying without having made a will

Intestate Succession

the succession of an heir at law to the property and estate of his
ancestor when the latter has died without a will

Interstate

between states

Intrastate

within a state

Inventory (in Probate)

listing and valuation of a decedent's assets by personal
representative of the estate

Justice of Peace

a public officer whose duties may include, among other things, the
investigation of death

Kin

one's relatives collectively; referring to blood relationship

Law

a rule of action prescribed yb an authority able to enforce its will

Legatee

one who inherits personal property under a will

Liability

responsibility for wrongful acts

Lien

a claim or charge against property for payment of some debt (there
can be no lien against a dead human body for it is not property)

Live Birth

the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of
conception which, after such separation, breathes or shows any other
evidence of life

Livery

automotive equipment made available for hire

Living Will

a document which governs the withholding or withdrawal of
life-sustaining treatment from an individual in the event of an
incurable or irreversible condition that will cause death within a
relatively short time, and when such person is no longer able to make
decisions regarding his/her medical treatment

Malpractice

improper or negligent professional act by a professional person

Medical Examiner/Coroner/Justice of Peace

a public officer whose duty it is to investigate cause of death when
the question of accident, suicide, or homicide may be evident, or
where there was no doctor in attendance

Mental Anguish

mental suffering resulting from grief, severe disappointment,
indignation, wounded pride, shame, public humiliation, despair, etc.,
usually accompanied by physical injury or by an outrageous intentional
or grossly negligent act

Morgue

a place where dead human bodies are kept until identified and/or
released for final disposition

mortgage

a secured loan on a parcel of real estate

Moral Turpitude

crime involving a willful wrongdoing, usually a felony

Mortuary Law/Mortuary Jurisprudence/Funeral Service Law

that branch of law that relates to matters concerned with the
disposal of the dead

Mutilation

altering of an object or a dead human body from its original condition

Negligence

failure to exercise ordinary care; omission to do something which a
reasonable, prudent person would do under ordinary circumstances or
the doing of something which a reasonable and prudent person would not
do; the lack of due care (exercised by a wrongdoer who has not acted
as a reasonable person would)

Nuisance

a landowner's use of property which interferes with the public's or
another landowner's use of his property

Nuisance in Fact

act, occupation, or structure that is not a nuisance per se, but may
become a nuisance by circumstances of the location or manner in which
it is operated

Nuisance Per Se

act, occupation, or structure which is a nuisance at all times and
under all circumstances; it may be prejudicial to public morals,
dangerous to life, or injurious to public rights

Nuncupative Will

oral will dictated by testator during last illness before appropriate
witnesses to dispose of personal property and afterwards reduced to writing

Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA)

a governmental agency with the responsibility for regulatory and
enforcement of safety and health matters for most employees

Ordinance

a law passed by a municipal governing body pertaining to matters not
already covered by Federal or State law (zoning, building, safety
ordinances, etc.)

Outrageous Act

an act with complete disregard for proper conduct

Per Capita

the method of dividing up an estate by which an equal share is given
to each of a number of persons, all of whom stand in equal degree to
the decedent

Personal Service Contract

contract which involves such personal knowledge, skills or confidence
that it can only be performed by the person with whom it is made; a
contract whereby both parties should recognize that any breach will
usually cause anguish

Per Stirpes

the method of dividing an estate where a class or group takes the
share which the deceased would have been entitled to, and not as so
many individuals, i.e., by right of representation

Personal Representative

a person who represents and settles the estate of deceased persons,
i.e., executors and administrators

Police Power

the inherent power of every government to make reasonable laws to
protect the safety health, morals, and general welfare of its citizens

Power of Attorney

an instrument granting someone authority to act as agent or
attorney-in-fact for the grantor; an ordinary power of attorney is
revocable and automatically terminates upon the death or incapacity of
the principal

Precedent

a decision of a court which is thereafter followed as an example by
other courts

Preparation Room

that facility in a funeral home especially designed and equipped for
embalming and preparation of dead human bodies

Private Carriers

those who transport only in particular instances and only for those
they choose to contract with (funeral home vehicles and livery)

Probate

the act or process of proving a will

Probate Court

a court having jurisdiction over estates

Probate Estate

the property of a decedent that is subject to administration by the
executor or administrator of an estate

Quasi Contract

a fictional contract applied by a court for a person who is unable to
contract for himself (i.e., medical care, death); an obligation which
law creates in the absence of agreement; is invoked by courts where
there is unjust enrichment; the function of quasi contract is to raise
an obligation in law where, in fact, the parties made no promises

Quasi-Property Theory

the accepted theory of the legal status of a dead human body; rights
associated with the body are as if it were property for the purpose of
disposition only

Reciprocity

the relationship exiting between two states whereby each extends
privileges of licenser to licenses of the other state

Replevin

an action to recover possession of personal property

Restrictive Covenant

provision in a deed limiting the use of property and prohibiting
certain uses

Revocation

the omission or cancellation of an instrument, act, license, or promise

Rules and Regulations

enactments by an administrative body governing the jurisdiction of
that agency

Secured Claim

a claim that is supported by a pledge of assets belonging to the debtor

Soldiers and Sailors Will

a nuncupative will, informal in nature, in which a soldier in the
field or sailor at sea may dispose of personal property only

Solvent Estate

an estate in which the assets exceed the liabilities

Springing Power of Attorney

an instrument in writing authorizing one person to act as an agent
for another affective only upon a certain event occurring

Stare decisis

a policy of courts to stand by a precedent and apply it to all future
cases where the facts are substantially the same; to stand by things decided

Statute

a particular law enacted by a legislative body

Statutory Law

law created by legislative bodies in contrast to law generated by
judicial opinions (case law) and administrative bodies

Testate

the condition of leaving a will at death

Testator

a man who makes a valid will

Testatrix

a woman who makes a valid will

Tort

a wrongful act committed by one person against another person or his property

Trustee

one who holds a position of trust to beneficiary; in funeral
arrangements, the person who has the right to control the funeral on
behalf of all survivors

Uniform Anatomical Gift Act

a law permitting a person of legal age and sound mind to give all or
any part of his body to take effect upon his/her death or giving the
right to another

Uniform Probate Code

a model law to achieve uniformity to probate proceedings throughout
the US

Unsecured Claim

a claim that is not supported by a pledge of other assets belonging
to the debtor

Vital Statistics

the registration, preparation, transcription, collection,
compilation, and preservation of data pertaining to birth, adoptions,
deaths, still births, marital status, et.c

Volunteer Driver

those drivers not under the direct control of the funeral director

Will

an instrument executed with required formality by a person-making
disposition of his/her property to take effect upon his/her death

Zoning Ordinance

a law passed by a municipality by virtue of the police power that
regulates and prescribes the kind of building, residences, or
businesses, that shall be built and used in different parts of the municipality