Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:864 – Cancellation of preneed funeral contracts
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:864
- Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
- Buyer: means the person entering into a preneed funeral contract with a licensed funeral establishment. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:831
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Financial institution: means a state or national bank, savings bank or savings association located in the state of Louisiana and whose deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, including homesteads, building and loan associations and savings and loan associations. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:831
- Funeral: means the observances held for a dead person usually before burial or cremation. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:831
- Funeral establishment: means any place or premises duly licensed by the board and devoted to or used in the care and preparation for disposition of the body of a deceased person or maintained or held out to the public by advertising or otherwise as the office or place for the practice of funeral directing. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:831
- Funeral recipient: means the individual for whom funeral goods and services are to be provided under the terms of a preneed funeral contract. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:831
- Funeral trust account: means an account established pursuant to La. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:831
- 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.
- person: includes a body of persons, whether incorporated or not. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 1:10
- Preneed funeral contract: means any written agreement between a buyer and a funeral establishment in which a funeral establishment agrees, prior to the death of a named funeral recipient, to furnish funeral goods and services for the funeral recipient upon death, and the buyer, pursuant to that agreement, transfers or tenders funds, or assigns an insurance policy or annuity to the funeral establishment for the purpose of paying all or part of the cost of those funeral goods and services at the time they are actually provided. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:831
- Preneed insurance policy or annuity: means any policy or contract of insurance issued by an insurance company in accordance with Title 22 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, and used to fund a preneed funeral contract. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:831
- Trust account: A general term that covers all types of accounts in a trust department, such as estates, guardianships, and agencies. Source: OCC
A. Unless waived as provided in Subsection B of this Section, any buyer of a preneed funeral contract may cancel that contract and receive a full refund of all monies connected with that contract at any time within ten days after the buyer signed the contract. After the expiration of this ten day period, a preneed funeral contract may be cancelled as hereinafter provided.
B. Where an application by the buyer or funeral recipient for government benefits is pending, the buyer may waive his or her right to cancel the preneed funeral contract as provided in Subsection A of this Section by signing a written waiver of that right.
C.(1) If a preneed funeral contract is revocable, the buyer, or his legal representative, may cancel the preneed funeral contract at any time by sending written notice of such cancellation, via certified mail, return receipt requested, to the funeral establishment.
(2) If a funeral trust account has been established to fund that preneed funeral contract, the funeral establishment shall within ten business days after the notice of cancellation is received forward a copy of said notice of cancellation to the financial institution holding on deposit the funeral trust account, and take all necessary steps to ensure that all funds contained in that funeral trust account are refunded to the buyer, less any charge for early withdrawal imposed by the financial institution.
(3) If a preneed insurance policy or annuity was purchased or provided to fund a preneed funeral contract, the funeral establishment shall forward a copy of the notice of cancellation of that preneed funeral contract to the insurance company which issued the preneed insurance policy or annuity.
D. If a preneed funeral contract is irrevocable during the life of the funeral recipient the contract shall not be revocable by either party nor shall the buyer be entitled to a return of the monies or any preneed insurance policy or annuity delivered to the funeral establishment except by order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
E. No funeral establishment shall impose any surcharge, fee, or other penalty, monetary or otherwise, when any person seeks to exercise his right to cancel a preneed funeral contract.
Acts 2008, No. 799, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2009.