Terms Used In Arizona Laws > Title 32 > Chapter 12 > Article 1 - Funeral Services

• Action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Alkaline hydrolysis: means a form of final disposition that includes all of the following:

  (a) Reducing a dead human body to essential elements through a water-based dissolution process using alkaline chemicals, heat, agitation and pressure to accelerate natural decomposition. See Arizona Laws 32-1301

• Alkaline hydrolysis facility: means a building or structure containing one or more alkaline hydrolysis vessels for alkaline hydrolysis. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Alkaline hydrolysis operator: means a person who is trained to carry out the process of alkaline hydrolysis. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Alkaline hydrolysis vessel: means the container in which alkaline hydrolysis is performed. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Alternative container: means any unfinished wood box or other nonmetal receptacle or enclosure, without ornamentation or a fixed interior lining, that is designed for encasing human remains. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. ^{Source: OCC}
• Beneficiary: means a person whose future funeral arrangements will be handled by a funeral establishment pursuant to a prearranged funeral agreement. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Bribe: means anything of value or advantage, present or prospective, asked, offered, given, accepted or promised with a corrupt intent to influence, unlawfully, the person to whom it is given in that person's action, vote or opinion, in any public or official capacity. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Business entity: includes any corporation, association, limited liability company, professional corporation, partnership, limited partnership, sole proprietorship, business trust, trust, joint venture and other business entity. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Casket: means a rigid container that is designed to permanently encase human remains and that is usually constructed of wood, metal or synthetic substances and ornamented and lined with fabric. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Change of ownership: means a transfer of a controlling legal or equitable interest in a licensed funeral establishment or crematory resulting from a sale or merger. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Conviction: means a criminal adjudication or conviction by any state or federal court of competent jurisdiction, including a judgment based on a no contest plea, without regard to whether civil rights have been restored. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Cremated remains: means the remaining bone fragments after cremation. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Cremation: means the heating process that reduces human remains to bone fragments by combustion and evaporation. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Cremationist: means a person who operates a crematory retort, who performs the actual cremation of human remains and who may be licensed pursuant to article 6 of this chapter. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Crematory: means a building or portion of a building that is licensed pursuant to article 6 of this chapter and that houses a retort in which only human remains are cremated. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Department: means the department of health services. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Director: means the director of the department. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Disciplinary action: means an action taken to revoke or suspend a license, to impose probationary requirements or civil penalties or to issue a letter of censure or reprimand to any person who is subject to this chapter and who violates any provision of this chapter or rules. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Embalmer: means a person who is licensed pursuant to this chapter and who is engaged in embalming. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Embalming: means the implementation of reconstructive procedures and the process of disinfecting and preserving a dead human body to retard organic decomposition by treating the body to reduce the presence and growth of organisms. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Financial institution: means a bank, savings and loan association, trust company or credit union that is lawfully doing business in this state and that is not affiliated with a funeral establishment. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Funeral directing: means arranging, directing or providing a service in the disposition of dead human bodies for compensation. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Funeral director: means a person who is licensed pursuant to this chapter and who is engaged in funeral directing. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Funeral establishment: means a business at a specific location that is licensed pursuant to this chapter and that is devoted to the care, storage or preparation for final disposition or transportation of dead human bodies. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Good moral character: means that a person:

  (a) Has not been convicted of a class 1 or 2 felony by a court of competent jurisdiction. See Arizona Laws 32-1301; Version 2

• Human remains: means a lifeless human body or parts of a human body that allow a reasonable inference that death occurred. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Intern: means a person who is registered pursuant to this chapter and who is engaged in either or both of the following:

  (a) Embalming under the supervision of a registered embalmer. See Arizona Laws 32-1301; Version 2

• Intern trainee: means a person who intends to enter training as an intern and who is temporarily employed by a funeral establishment. See Arizona Laws 32-1301; Version 2
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• License: means a written authorization that is issued by the department and that entitles a person to act as a funeral director or embalmer or to operate a funeral establishment, crematory or alkaline hydrolysis facility in this state. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Licensee: means a person to whom the department has issued a license under this chapter. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Net interest: means interest earned on a prearranged funeral trust account minus applicable taxes, reasonable and necessary charges made by the financial institution and the annual service fee allowed to be deducted by the funeral establishment according to Section 32-1391. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association or society, as well as a natural person. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Personal property: includes money, goods, chattels, things in action and evidences of debt. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
• Prearranged funeral agreement: means any agreement or combination of agreements under which a payment is made before the death of the intended beneficiary for funeral goods and services to be delivered or performed after the death of the beneficiary. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Preparation: means washing, shaving, dressing or arranging hair on, applying cosmetics to or positioning bodily features on a dead human body and placing the dead human body in a casket. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Process: means a citation, writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Processed cremated remains: means cremated remains after they are pulverized and cleaned, leaving primarily small bone fragments. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Property: includes both real and personal property. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Registrant: means a person who is registered by the funeral services regulating authority of this state to act as a funeral director, embalmer or intern or to operate a funeral establishment or crematory in this state. See Arizona Laws 32-1301; Version 2
• Registration: means government registration as defined in section 41-3501 and entitles a person to act as an assistant funeral director, an embalmer's assistant or a prearranged funeral salesperson in this state. See Arizona Laws 32-1301; Version 2
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• Responsible cremationist: means a licensed cremationist who manages a crematory. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Responsible funeral director: means a person who is licensed pursuant to this chapter, who is engaged in funeral directing and who manages and is accountable for a funeral establishment. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Retort: means an enclosed space within which cremation takes place. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• State equivalent examination: means the test or tests that are provided by the conference of funeral service examining boards and offered by the regulating authority of this state to determine the entry level knowledge and skills of a person regarding funeral directing and embalming. See Arizona Laws 32-1301; Version 2
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• supervision: means that a licensed embalmer has responsibility for and is within sight and sound of a person who is embalming a dead human body or assisting in embalming a dead human body. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Temporary container: means a receptacle that is usually made of cardboard, rigid plastic or another similar material and that is designed to hold processed cremated remains until they are placed in an urn or another permanent container. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Transportation protection agreement: means an agreement that primarily provides or arranges for services that are related to preparing human remains or cremated remains for the purpose of transportation and such subsequent transportation. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Trust account: A general term that covers all types of accounts in a trust department, such as estates, guardianships, and agencies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Trust funds: means all monies that are deposited on behalf of a beneficiary of a prearranged funeral agreement funded by trust and all accrued net interest. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Universal precautions: means the universal blood and fluid precautions recommended by the centers for disease control of the United States public health service to prevent the transmission of bloodborne and bodily fluid-borne infectious diseases. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Urn: means a receptacle into which processed cremated remains are placed for disposition. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Wilfully: means , with respect to conduct or to a circumstance described by a statute defining an offense, that a person is aware or believes that the person's conduct is of that nature or that the circumstance exists. See Arizona Laws 1-215