Funeral Consumers Alliance of Humboldt
An Alliance for End of Life Planning
Articles of Interest
Advanced Care Planning
Choosing Options for Life-Sustaining Care
Advance planning will ensure your wishes are followed.
Mr. J. had an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) for advanced heart failure. Having survived one episode of cardiac arrest, in which he nearly died, he was at high risk for another episode caused by a rapid, unorganized heart rhythm called ventricular fibrillation. READ MORE
The Importance of Creating a "Death File"
The FCA phone rang one morning last spring. The caller had discovered his mother-in-law dead when he arrived to visit. Taken by surprise, the family called the FCA – “now what??” READ MORE
Do I Need to Use a Funeral Home
The FCA frequently receives telephone calls inquiring about cremating or burying a loved one without the services of a funeral home. Callers often want to know about the legalities of doing this, and what, if any, permits are needed. READ MORE
Paying for Funerals/Memorials
Many members establish a Pay on Death (POD) account at their bank or similar financial institution designating their representative as the beneficiary of the funds in the account upon the member’s death. READ MORE
​PRE-NEED Plans--Do You Need One?
Probably not. The experience is that pre-paying usually costs the consumer more.
"Pre-Need" is a term used by the funeral industry to describe payment for funeral and cemetery services and merchandise prior to death. Such plans usually are in the form of insurance payable on an installment plan. Financing and service charges increase the cost. Both mortuaries and cemeteries sell pre-need plans. READ MORE
Cemeteries in Humboldt
Cemeteries in Rural Humboldt
I recently had a conversation with my mother about her end-of-life wishes. She stated her wish is to be buried on her land out in the mountains. Well, we all know we can’t just bury someone on the “back forty,” but having this conversation inspired me to learn more about what might be the next best option. READ MORE
Bringing Green Burial to Humboldt County
“Green” burial is a natural process that allows one’s body to return gently back to the earth. It avoids the use of modern caskets, concrete vaults and toxic embalming fluids all of which hinder the decomposition process and waste resources. READ MORE
In tough times, A boom in Cremations as a way to save money
As Toni Kelly battled lymphoma, first with a bone marrow transplant and then with brutal rounds of chemotherapy, she worried obsessively that her four-year struggle would destroy her family’s finances.
Home Burials offers an intimate alternative
When Nathaniel Roe, 92, died at his 18th century farmhouse the morning of June 6, his family did not call a funeral home to handle the arrangements. Instead, Mr. Roe’s children, like a growing number of people nationwide, decided to care for their father in death as they had in the last months of his life. READ MORE
Other Resources
The Book the Funeral Industry Doesn't Want You to Read
Final Rights: Reclaiming the American Way of Death
Final Rights is the definitive book on the modern funeral industry. Written by national FCA executive director Josh Slocum and Funeral Ethics Organization leader Lisa Carlson, Final Rightscombines journalistic investigation with practical consumer advice. The only book of its kind, Final Rights unveils the tricks of the funeral trade (and how to avoid them) while calling out government regulators who dance to the $15-billion death industry's tune when they're supposed to be protecting you, the funeral consumer. READ MORE
Keep your voice, even at the end of life
The specter of “death panels” was raised yet again this month, prompting the Obama administration to give in to political pressure a second time in its effort to encourage end-of-life planning. READ MORE
Experiences to learn from
I have been recently working with a social worker and the mortuary in a case in which a woman had joined FCA, but had not spoken to her family about her wishes. After she passed away the family met with the mortuary, but no mention was made of FCA. READ MORE
Different Way Families Deal with Death
More and more today we are reading about and seeing in the media a step back in time in the ways some families are dealing with death. Natural Burial is a huge topic of interest. Caring for the body, sitting with it for a period of time, and finally transporting it to the final resting site are three of the common changes I see. READ MORE