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Written by Bruce I. Wiener, Managing Partner of Akerman LLP’s Tallahassee, Florida Office Thoughts of a sale or succession planning may be top of mind or beginning to percolate for some death-care professionals. At the same time, allocating time for these matters and tending to real estate housekeeping tasks can be challenging as your days are filled with serving families and your communities. These tasks can pile up over time, making the outlook on completing them formidable. So, if a sale is on the agenda, time should be set aside to fully assess your real estate assets to structure and plan for a potential transaction ahead. Once a purchase and sale agreement has been entered into, the transaction can move very quickly. But the transaction can fail just as quickly if issues arise during the due diligence process and the […]

From the Lawyers of WRW Legal, PLLC Does or did the funeral home you are considering acquiring collect fingerprints, DNA or locks of hair from decedents for the creation of keepsakes?  If so, you may be acquiring liability related to that practice.  You’ll want to give attention to that business’s practices relating to the collection and use of biometric data. Currently, there are only a few states which have enacted laws regarding biometric data privacy.  But, that does not mean that those are the only states where collecting and using biometric data without prior permission can be problematic.  There are currently two lawsuits of which we are aware against funeral homes for capturing decedent fingerprints prior to obtaining authorization from the decedent’s next of kin, aka the authorizing agent – a class action in Illinois and another case in Florida.  […]

Written by Welton Hong, Ring Ring Marketing Running a successful pay-per-click (PPC) ad campaign isn’t just about showing up; it’s about showing up for the right audience. Many funeral homes focus heavily on selecting the “perfect” keywords, but that’s only one side of the coin. If you’re not also eliminating the wrong traffic, you’re leaving the back door wide open—and your ad budget is walking out. Think of your PPC campaign like planning a formal dinner party. Your positive keywords are the invitations you send out: they determine who shows up. But if you don’t set clear expectations or limit plus-ones, you might find your living room packed with folks who thought it was a backyard barbecue. Negative keywords are your way of saying, “This isn’t that kind of party.” Let’s say your funeral home provides high-end funeral services. You […]

(Names and identifying details have been changed to protect privacy. But trust me—these challenges and triumphs are all too real in the funeral profession.) “Fire them, or pack your things.” That was the ultimatum John Smith heard on an otherwise ordinary morning. The funeral home owner—John’s longtime boss—wanted an employee gone for purely personal reasons, a vendetta completely unrelated to job performance. John knew in his gut: that’s not how you run a successful business, and it’s definitely not how you treat loyal staff. Within minutes, he grabbed his stuff, said goodbye to a place he’d poured years of effort into, and walked out. Enough was enough. In that moment, John realized: If I can’t stand by while someone’s wrongfully fired—maybe it’s time I run my own funeral home the right way. But let’s be real—big decisions aren’t always glamorous. […]

(Note: names, specific locations, and identifying details have been changed to protect privacy. The scenarios described, however, are real and reflective of genuine trends in the funeral and cemetery profession.) Across the country, funeral homes are experiencing a seismic shift. With skyrocketing real estate prices and evolving preferences for funeral services, providers are reconsidering their traditional reliance on physical facilities. This shift has prompted a growing number of funeral homes to adopt “asset-light” models—operating without traditional brick-and-mortar spaces, leveraging third-party partnerships and rented spaces to deliver meaningful, personalized funeral experiences. While this innovative approach offers substantial growth potential, it also presents unique challenges, as two similar but ultimately very different funeral homes discovered. Evergreen Farewell Services: Losing Sight of the Mission Evergreen Farewell Services was established with a clear, heartfelt mission: to provide families with deeply personalized, environmentally friendly funeral […]