Terms Used In Maryland Code, HEALTH - GENERAL 5-508

  • including: means includes or including by way of illustration and not by way of limitation. See
  • Person: includes an individual, receiver, trustee, guardian, personal representative, fiduciary, representative of any kind, corporation, partnership, business trust, statutory trust, limited liability company, firm, association, or other nongovernmental entity. See
  • state: means :

    (1) a state, possession, territory, or commonwealth of the United States; or

    (2) the District of Columbia. See
(a) In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated.

(b) “Authorizing agent” means the individual who has legal authority to arrange for and make decisions regarding the final disposition of a dead human body, including by cremation.

(c) “Cremation” means the disposition of a dead human body by means of incineration.

(d) “Crematory” is a building in which cremations are performed.

(e) “Decedent” means a dead human being.

(f) “Practitioner” means a person who is licensed by the State as a funeral director, mortician, or surviving spouse licensee to practice mortuary science.

(g) “Pre-need contract” means an agreement prior to the time of death between a consumer and a practitioner to provide any goods and services regarding the final disposition of a dead human body.