BMS Funeral Directing and Rites 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the legal significance of the 'next of kin' hierarchy in funeral directing?
- It determines who pays the funeral bill
- It establishes who has legal authority to authorize disposition (Correct answer)
- It dictates the type of service that must be performed
- It defines who inherits the deceased's property
Correct answer: It establishes who has legal authority to authorize disposition
Next of kin hierarchy establishes who has the legal right to control final disposition and authorize funeral arrangements.
Question 2: A funeral director receives a body with no identification. What is the correct first step?
- Begin embalming immediately to preserve the remains
- Notify law enforcement and await identification clearance (Correct answer)
- Contact the nearest hospital for records
- Proceed with direct cremation to minimize costs
Correct answer: Notify law enforcement and await identification clearance
An unidentified decedent is a potential medicolegal case, and law enforcement must be notified before any preparation or disposition proceeds.
Question 3: Which of the following best describes 'preneed' funeral arrangements?
- Arrangements made during an emergency without prior planning
- Funeral goods and services selected and often prepaid before death occurs (Correct answer)
- A discount program for low-income families
- An arrangement made by the funeral home on behalf of unclaimed remains
Correct answer: Funeral goods and services selected and often prepaid before death occurs
Preneed arrangements are made by individuals in advance of death, allowing them to plan and often prepay for their own funeral.
Question 4: What is the purpose of a 'Statement of Funeral Goods and Services Selected' provided to the family at arrangement?
- To serve as the official death certificate
- To provide an itemized price list of all selected services and merchandise (Correct answer)
- To authorize the funeral director to embalm the decedent
- To record the next of kin's contact information
Correct answer: To provide an itemized price list of all selected services and merchandise
This statement, required by the FTC Funeral Rule, itemizes exactly what goods and services the family selected and their individual prices.
Question 5: In Catholic funeral rites in the United States, what is the typical order of the three main liturgical components?
- Funeral Mass → Vigil → Committal
- Committal → Vigil → Funeral Mass
- Vigil → Funeral Mass → Committal (Correct answer)
- Vigil → Committal → Funeral Mass
Correct answer: Vigil → Funeral Mass → Committal
The Order of Christian Funerals prescribes the Vigil (wake) first, followed by the Funeral Mass, and concluding with the Committal at the graveside.
Question 6: Which casket component is specifically designed to support and display the upper half of the body during a viewing?
- The ogee
- The body panel
- The half-couch lid (Correct answer)
- The bier
Correct answer: The half-couch lid
The half-couch lid is split so the upper half can be raised to display the deceased's upper body while the lower half remains closed.
Question 7: A funeral director is arranging services for a decedent who was a veteran. Which benefit is provided at no cost to eligible veterans?
- Full funeral service coverage
- A grave marker or headstone from the VA (Correct answer)
- Casket purchase reimbursement
- Embalming and preparation fees
Correct answer: A grave marker or headstone from the VA
The Department of Veterans Affairs provides a burial marker or headstone at no cost to eligible veterans buried in any cemetery.
BMS Funeral Directing and Rites 4
What is the legal significance of the 'next of kin' hierarchy in funeral directing?