Chapter 04. Code of Ethics and Professional Standards

Burial Space.

Consumer.

“Decedent” means a person or pet who is no longer living.

“Installation of a memorial” includes the installation of a foundation for a memorial.

“Licensee” means a person licensed by the State agency to sell burial space, burial goods, or burial services.

“Memorial” means a marker, memorial, monument, scroll, urn, vase, or other permanent fixture used to memorialize a burial space.

Act in a manner that respects and protects the dignity of a decedent and the decedent’s family or pet’s owner;

Conduct business in a reasonable, usual, and customary manner;

Comply with the State public health laws as set forth in Health-General Article, §4-215 and §5-501 et seq., Annotated Code of Maryland;

Comply with Commercial Law Article, Titles 12 and 13, Annotated Code of Maryland;

Implement and follow through on all arrangements agreed upon between a consumer and the cemetery or burial goods business;

Provide appropriate services for and respect the rights of individuals without regard to age, race, creed, national origin, gender, disability, marital status, political belief, religious affiliation, social or economic status, or social preferences;

Comply with the State laws for cremation;

Be sensitive and responsive to the bereavement needs of a decedent’s family or pet’s owner;

Complete the obligations of a paid-in-full contract within a reasonable time of the need for these goods and services;

Comply with all laws dealing with the operation of a cemetery or providing burial goods;

Be responsible for repair or replacement of any memorial damaged or improperly set by the registrant or the registrant's or permit holder's employees;

Disclose to a consumer orally and in writing at or before the time of a preneed sale all goods and services that are reasonably expected to be required at the time of need that are not included in the preneed burial contract, including:

Disclose to a consumer orally and in writing at or before the time of a sale of a monument, memorial, or other permanent product used to identify a human or pet burial space all goods and services related to the monument, memorial, or other permanent product that are reasonably expected to be required for the full use and care of the product at the time of need that are not included in the burial contract, including:

State to a consumer in clear understandable language orally and in writing, at the time of entering into a contract, all cancellation and refund rights which may be available to the consumer, including rights relating to burial spaces, caskets, and burial goods considered delivered;

Disclose to a consumer, orally and in writing, the responsibility of the registrant or permit holder for the continued care of memorials after purchase;

Disclose to a consumer, orally and in writing, at or before the time of an at-need sale that:

Provide to any person who requests information, at the office, regarding burial space, burial goods, or burial services, the general price list for the person to retain;

Provide accurate information, orally, from the general price list to any person who requests information, by telephone, regarding specific burial space, burial goods, or burial services;

Present to a consumer a balanced display of various cost options of burial goods or services offered for sale; and

Comply with any oral or written disclosure requirements in this chapter by obtaining a signed acknowledgment from the consumer.

Place advertisements which include statements:

Use, or participate in the use of, any form of communication to consumers containing a false, fraudulent, misleading, deceptive, or unfair statement or claim;

Operate a cemetery or provide burial goods while under the influence of alcohol, an illegal drug, or a controlled dangerous substance which has not been prescribed by a physician;

Fail to provide care to a memorial or burial space if the registrant or permit holder agrees to provide this care;

Provide less care to or state or imply that less care is given a memorial or burial space if a memorial is obtained from a person other than the registrant or permit holder; and

Pay or agree to pay any sum or any thing of value to any person, who is not licensed or registered by a State agency to sell burial space, or burial goods or services, for soliciting or referring, at need, a consumer for the purchase of burial space, or burial goods or services.

Maintain cemetery grounds and structures in a reasonable condition;

Keep accurate records of all sales and interments, including a map or plat which identifies the section name, lot number, and site number of each burial space in the cemetery or mausoleum or both;

Establish and maintain a record with the dates, locations, facts, and any permit required under Health-General Article, §4-215(e), Annotated Code of Maryland, relative to the relocation of human remains, including cremated human remains, from an existing burial space to another burial space;

Provide to a consumer, orally and in writing, at the time of entering into a contract for a memorial, a statement of the cemetery's policy on the use of independent monument companies;

Provide to a consumer, within 1 business day, a response to an authorization request for the installation or servicing of a foundation or burial goods;

Provide to a consumer, upon request, within 1 business day, information about the rules and regulations for a section and area of the cemetery, including the specifications, standards, and requirements, and any fees for the installation and type of memorial;

Provide, upon request, to a consumer, within 1 business day, information regarding the exact location of a burial space for the purpose of installing or servicing a memorial;

Have the same specifications, standards, and requirements for the installation of memorials in the registrant's or permit holder's cemetery regardless of who sold the memorial; and

Disclose to a consumer, orally and in writing, at the time of entering into a contract, the number of interments that may be placed in each burial space and their disposition within a burial space.

Disclose to the owner of the burial space, in writing, if damage has occurred to the integrity of a casket, liner, vault, crypt, mausoleum space, or columbarium space within 10 days of discovery of the damage;

If the damage which has occurred to the integrity of a casket, liner, vault, crypt, mausoleum space, or columbarium space, was caused by the actions of the cemetery, offer to repair or to supply to the owner of the burial space a reasonable and comparable alternative burial space, casket, liner, vault, crypt, mausoleum space, or columbarium space; and

Maintain in the cemetery's office, for inspection by consumers, a current and complete listing of the rules and requirements of the cemetery including those related to memorialization, interment, memorial services, burial space embellishments, and hours of operation.

State or imply that the State requires a consumer to come to a cemetery before an interment is performed;

Charge extra fees for the storage of a casket, or the opening and closing of a burial space after hours, due to a delay in burial attributable to a breakdown of equipment or to the registrant's or permit holder's actions;

Charge a fee for disclosing any information which is needed to install or service a memorial;

Establish any policy or rule which unreasonably impedes, prohibits, or restricts anyone from viewing the lowering of a casket or participating in a funeral service at a burial space;

Knowingly or intentionally open a burial space other than that which the lot owner, next-of-kin, family, or their agent or personal representative owns or purchased for right of burial;

Knowingly or intentionally resell a burial space which has already been sold for future use or in which an interment exists;

Charge any fees relating to the installation or servicing of burial goods purchased from a registered cemetarian, registered seller, or permit holder, other than the registered cemeterian or permit holder, unless the fee is reasonable and is based on actual labor and other appropriate costs; and.

Charge a fee for any memorial care other than perpetual memorial care.