Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 239 CMR - BOARD OF REGISTRATION IN EMBALMING AND FUNERAL DIRECTING › Title 239 CMR 4.00 - Pre-need Funeral Contracts and Arrangements › Section 4.01 - Definitions

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
For purposes of
				239 CMR 4.00, the following
				terms shall have the following meanings unless the context in which they are
				used clearly indicates otherwise:
Beneficiary
. The individual for whom
				funeral goods and services are to be provided under the terms of a Pre-need
				Funeral Contract.
Buyer
. The person entering into a
				Pre-need Funeral Contract with a Licensed Funeral Establishment.
Cost-protected Pre-need Funeral
				Contract
. A Pre-need Funeral Contract in which:
(a) a Licensed Funeral Establishment agrees to provide a
				specifically-identified set of Funeral Goods and/or Services for a named
				Beneficiary upon his or her death;
(b) the Beneficiary has established a Funeral Trust Account, or
				purchased a Pre-need Insurance Policy or Annuity, which is to be used to pay
				for those funeral goods and services;
(3) the Beneficiary has fully funded the Funeral Trust Account,
				or fully paid for the Pre-need Insurance Policy or Annuity, within a specified
				period of time after the Pre-need Funeral Contract is made; and
(4) the Licensed Funeral Establishment has agreed to accept the
				funds available in the Beneficiary's Funeral Trust Account or Pre-need
				Insurance Policy or Annuity at the time of the Beneficiary's death as payment
				in full for all funeral goods and services provided by the funeral
				establishment, and, to the extent specifically provided in the contract, for
				Non-funeral Establishment Charges or "Cash Advance Item" Charges as well, so
				that there will be no additional cost to the Beneficiary or his or her estate
				for those goods, services and charges at the time of the Beneficiary's
				death.
Funeral Goods and/or Services
. Those
				goods and services which are customarily provided in the business of embalming
				and funeral directing, as commonly practiced, including but not limited to
				usage of facilities and those goods and services identified in
				239 CMR 3.01:
Definitions
.
Funeral Trust Account
. An account
				established in any federal or state-chartered banking institution having trust
				powers, or any trust company, located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in
				which funds are deposited or invested pursuant to the terms of a Pre-need
				Funeral Contract for the purpose of paying for Funeral Goods and/or Services at
				a future time.
Irrevocable
. After any cooling off
				period, that the Pre-need Funeral Contract may not be terminated by any party
				or beneficiary of the contract except by order of a court of competent
				jurisdiction.
Irrevocable
may apply to the Pre-need
				Funeral Contract as a whole, or may apply to specific portions of the
				contract.
Itemized Statement of Funeral Goods and
				Services
. A written itemized statement showing to the extent then
				known the price of Funeral Goods and/or Services selected by a person, the
				price of each supplemental item of goods and/or services to be provided, the
				estimated amount for each item for which the funeral establishment will advance
				monies as an accommodation to the person or persons making the funeral
				arrangements, and all other information required by M.G.L. c. 112, § 84B,
				239 CMR
				3.14:
Price Disclosure to
				Consumer
, and
				16 CFR
				453.2.
Non-funeral Establishment Charges or "Cash Advance
				Item" Charges
. The costs of goods or services which are provided
				for a Beneficiary in connection with his or her funeral by a supplier or vendor
				other than a funeral establishment licensed in Massachusetts, but which are
				partially or fully paid for by a Massachusetts Licensed Funeral Establishment
				with funds in a Funeral Trust Account or Pre-need Insurance Policy or Annuity
				on behalf of, and as an accommodation to, that Beneficiary.
Pre-need Funeral Contract
. Any
				written agreement between a Buyer and a Licensed Funeral Establishment in
				which:
(a) the Licensed Funeral Establishment agrees, prior to the
				death of a named Beneficiary, to furnish Funeral Goods and/or Services for that
				named Beneficiary upon his or her death, and
(b) the Buyer, pursuant to that agreement, tenders funds made
				payable to a banking institution or insurance company to the Licensed Funeral
				Establishment for the purpose of paying all or part of the cost of those
				Funeral Goods and/or Services at the time they are actually provided.
Pre-need Insurance Policy or Annuity
.
				Any policy, certificate, agreement or contract of insurance issued by an
				insurance company, the proceeds of which are to be utilized to pay for Funeral
				Goods and/or Services furnished to a named Beneficiary.
Revocable
. The Pre-need Funeral
				Contract may be terminated at any time, with or without cause, by the
				Beneficiary of the contract, or, if the Beneficiary is deceased, his or her
				estate.
Revocable
may apply to the Pre-need Funeral
				Contract as a whole, or may apply to specific portions of the contract, such as
				specific goods and services.
Trustee
. A federal or state-chartered
				banking institution within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts having trust
				powers, or a trust company within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, to which
				funds have been transferred in trust for the purpose of paying for Funeral
				Goods and/or Services for a named Beneficiary, and which is charged with the
				fiduciary duty of managing and administering those funds for the benefit for
				that named Beneficiary.