The often-forgotten nonfuneral consumer grief for the grieving

Consumer protection advocates and resulting government regulation of the death care industry tend to focus on the most obvious problems, those caused by deceptive sales practices of funeral service providers. However, a spotlight on the funeral's large expenses overshadows the myriad of other consumption activities that heirs must undertake. Survivors must navigate confusing complex situations for which they are unprepared, at a time when grief increases their vulnerability. ********** Consumer protection advocates and resulting government regulation of the death care industry tend to focus on the most obvious problems, those caused by deceptive sales practices of funeral service providers. However, a spotlight on the funeral's large expenses overshadows the myriad of other consumption activities that heirs must undertake. The responsibility for unwinding the material aspects of someone's life often falls to family members who are unlikely to have prior experience or readily available and useful information to guide them through this maze (Kopp and Kemp 2007). Moreover, these tasks confront grieving, vulnerable individuals, compounding the challenges (Gentry et al. 1995b). Of the 2.5 million deaths in the United States in 2005, eighty-three percent were individuals aged fifty five or older (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2008). It is reasonable to assume that many of them had established bank accounts, acquired homes and mortgages, financed the purchase of automobiles and other high ticket items, routinely used credit cards, purchased life insurance, invested, paid taxes, and engaged in a multitude of financial transactions. In short, they were consumers. Upon death, they left bills unpaid, life insurance benefits to be claimed, investments to liquidate, and property to sell. Yet little attention has been paid to protecting the interests of consumers after death or protecting their executors, administrators, and heirs. GRIEF AND VULNERABILITY Baker, Gentry, and Rittenburg (2005) define consumer vulnerability as a condition, not a personal characteristic. It is experienced as a lack of control arising from the interaction of individual states, personal characteristics, and external conditions. The death of a family member or other loved one can result in disorientation and instability, increasing the affected individual's vulnerability, and reducing his or her ability to make decisions or conduct routine consumer activities. Yet a grieving family member charged with the responsibility for settling an estate cannot escape the consumer role. Recognition of the fragile state of mourners is the foundation for the Funeral Industry Practices Rule of the Federal Trade Commission (Kopp and Kemp 2007). Misrepresentation is expressly prohibited, and information disclosures are mandated. Consumers do not, however, engage in extensive information processing while in the transition, or liminal, state of grief (Gentry et al. 1995a). They may not read disclosures, nor are they likely to explore alternatives (Kopp and Kemp 2007). The physical, cognitive, and behavioral symptoms of grief interrupt routine patterns of behavior, complicating death-related decisions (Gentry et al. 1995a). Thus, the minimal level of protection afforded by the Funeral Rule has been criticized as being insufficient (Kopp and Kemp 2007). Yet the funeral marks the beginning of a lengthy process that heirs must navigate, and consumer protection may, in fact, be greatest at this point, given the existence of explicit, although imperfect, regulations. Grief is not marked by a specific time frame. There is no set period after which the effects of grieving diminish. Grief-related vulnerability eventually lessens, but during the liminal period, individuals have limited desire or ability to protect their own interests. Decision making is impaired, and susceptibility to fraud is enhanced (Baker, Gentry, and Rittenburg 2005). …