Q: Prior to cremation, funeral homes remove gold crowns from the deceased. Do they pocket them? Who’s to know? — John Mlinar, Rye
A: One hopes they don’t. Objects of value or personal worth are the property of the decedent’s next of kin.
Although there is no regulatory oversight of the funeral industry, there are laws in place to protect consumers and society in general from the bad apples.
It is easy to prove the existence of a gold crown in the deceased via dental records, and many funeral operators have procedures in place to identify items of value — teeth, rings and chains, among other things — and how they were disposed of or returned to family members.
Complaints, however, are not so easily made.
The Colorado Funeral Service Board is an industry-created oversight authority that takes in consumer complaints and tries to broker settlements. There is no specific government oversight of the funeral business in Colorado, the only state in the nation without it.
It’s not for want of trying, and the loudest proponent for regulation is the industry itself. Deregulated in 1983, the Colorado Funeral Directors Association has tried several times to have government oversight reinstated.
A current effort before the legislature seems destined for the graveyard like its predecessors, and licensure and certification remain voluntary processes.
There are consumer protection laws, including the Federal Trade Commission’s rule requiring full disclosure of prices, but past that, it’s a wing and a prayer.
