If you are starting to receive some funeral homes who no longer provide you with information the following article is probably the reason why. The National Funeral Directors Association published this in January 2001 as a result of our sue happy society. Funeral Homes who have provided information in the past are now closing their books to almost everyone. SCI Corporation/Dignity has followed this for a couple of years. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// GUARD AGAINST ILLEGAL DISCLOSURE OF FAMILY CONFIDENCES By: Scott Gilligen, NFDA General Counsel "One of the fastest growing hobbies in the United States is genealogy. Spurred on by Internet web sites such as familysearch.org offered by the Mormon church and genealogy.com. Americans have unprecedented access to records from which they can research the roots of their own family trees. "Of course, one of the best sources of local history for families is the funeral home. Many funeral homes have been in business for several generations and normally do not discard records or files of the individual they have served. Therefore, for many families, the funeral home is one of the primary sources for locating local roots of a family tree. "How should a funeral director respond when an individual requests access to the funeral home's files to do genealogy research? Should the funeral home permit members of the public to review all of the funeral home's files? Should that review be limited only to the files of deceased family members of the individual who is doing the research? If access is limited to family members, how does the funeral home determine who is and who is not a "family member"? For example, how may degrees of kinship will the funeral home permit the individual to search? "Beyond the inconvenience of having individuals rooting through funeral home files and the danger that an unscrupulous individual may misappropriate records from the files, the funeral home faces a significant legal liability when it permits public access to its records. "To protect against possible violations or legal action we recommend that funeral homes not permit genealogy researchers unlimited access to their records and files. This advisory extends even to requests by individuals to examine files of their own family. It is impossible for a funeral director to determine whether a confidence communication to funeral home personnel is a secret known throughout the family. "Funeral home files are the personal property of the funeral home. Family members do not have the right to review those files as they might with their own personal medical records. Therefore, absent a subpoena or other court order mandating disclosure of the files, the funeral home has a legal right to deny access to those records, even to family members. "Funeral homes that are concerned that genealogists will be offended by a policy prohibiting any examination of funeral home records might want to assemble an alphabetical compilation of the obituaries of the persons they have served. Since an obituary has been published, it becomes part of the public domain. Therefore, there is no liability to allowing a genealogist to peruse through a binder containing copies of all of the obituaries of the individuals the funeral home has served." Reprint from the NADA Magazine January 2001 ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////// Bill Surnames of Interest: BUCHHOLZ anywhere -BECKMANN-CASSIDY-DeL0NJAY-DREES-MOSBACHER-NENTWIG-NEUTZLER-PONCOT-RENSIN G-STAUDER-STIEFFERMANN