Oak Ridge Funeral Care

Oak Ridge Funeral Care Obituaries

Funeral homes can be caught in the middle of family conflicts - The Ledger

If the person who dies has four grown children, it’s not enough for three to agree on cremation if the fourth wants burial, said Keith Fields, a funeral director at Oak Ridge Funeral Care in Winter Haven.“We get families fighting,” Fields said. “Some family member wants the body cremated and someone wants the body buried, and they can’t decide what to do and we’re just kind of stuck in the middle. If they’re arguing back and forth, we can’t do anything.”Funeral directors can sometimes mediate disputes and help relatives reach an agreement, Fields said, but they can’t impose a decision on the family. If the relatives remain at odds about the disposition of the body, ultimately the matter can wind up in court.Nelson said the family can request an emergency hearing before a judge or arbitrator.“We pretty much refuse to get in the middle of a family squabble,” Nelson said. “If they can’t decide what to do, we back off and say, ‘Bring us a court order or you can go to another funeral home.’ ”Abandoned bodiesBill Schichtel, president of Heath Funeral Chapel in Lakeland, recalled a family conflict that forced his company to store a body for about three months. The daughter of the deceased person did not respond to Heath’s repeated contacts, leaving the funeral home unable to proceed.Schichtel finally had a lawyer send a letter to the woman saying authority over the remains would pass to a granddaughter if she didn’t take charge. The woman at last responded and gave permission for a cremation, Schichtel said.“That was probably the toughest one to try to reach somebody,” Schichtel said. “I’ve been here 27 years, and you never know what’s going to happen and every family’s different.”It’s rare for relatives to be so intransigent they’re willing to go to court, said Trey Hall, a funeral director at Gentry-Morrison Funeral Homes in Lakeland.“We have had families drag out a dispute over 30 days, but usually it can be resolved before the time and expense of a court order,” Hall said.Nelson said he has witnessed family conflicts that had to be decided in court a few times.“We don’t cremate without everybody’s signature and everybody’s OK that has a legal right," he said. "If you don’t (have that), it may not be a law broken but you can be sued. Cremation is our biggest potential liability because it is so permanen...