§ 3442 — Funeral directing; reports relating to moneys paid in connection with agreements for funeral merchandise or services in advance of need

§ 3442. Funeral directing; reports relating to moneys paid in\nconnection with agreements for funeral merchandise or services in\nadvance of need. 1. Every person licensed pursuant to this article,\nincluding funeral directors and funeral firms, receiving moneys in\nconnection with agreements to furnish merchandise or services in\nconnection with a funeral or burial, wherein the merchandise is not to\nbe delivered or the personal services rendered until the occurrence of\nthe death of the person for whose funeral or burial such merchandise or\nservices are to be furnished, shall comply with the provisions of\nsection four hundred fifty-three of the general business law, furnish a\npreneed statement to the person making such payment describing such\nservices and merchandise offered on a form prescribed by the\ncommissioner and shall maintain current records of the persons making\nsuch payments or receiving such merchandise or services or having been\nrepaid moneys and shall maintain true copies of such agreements. Such\nrecords and true copies of agreements shall be made available for\ninspection and shall be made available during ordinary business hours\nfor copying upon written request by the commissioner or his or her\nrepresentative in connection with any investigation pursuant to this\narticle. Copies shall only be requested where the department has\nreceived a complaint, either oral or written, or where the department\ninspector has grounds to believe that serious or repeat violations of\nthis section have occurred.\n 2. Only a funeral firm having a valid registration issued pursuant to\nparagraph (c) of subdivision two of section thirty-four hundred\ntwenty-eight of this article or their duly authorized agent, may receive\nand hold moneys in trust which have been paid in connection with an\nagreement as described in subdivision one of this section.\n 3. (a) Upon the sale or other transfer of any funeral firm, or the\ntransfer of control over such moneys, both the new owner and former\nowner or the estate of the former owner, or both the persons currently\nand formerly having control over such moneys, shall within thirty days\nof such sale or transfer, notify, in writing, each such person who has\npaid moneys of the sale or transfer, including the name and address of\nthe new and former owner. Compliance with the requirements of this\nsubdivision shall constitute compliance with the same notification\nrequirements found in subdivision five of section four hundred\nfifty-three of the general business law. Copies of such notifications\nshall be available for inspection and shall be made available during\nordinary business hours for copying upon written request by the\ncommissioner or his or her representative in connection with any\ninvestigation pursuant to this article.\n (b) Upon the sale or other transfer of any funeral firm having\nreceived moneys in connection with any agreement described in\nsubdivision one of this section or upon any transfer of control over\nsuch moneys, the transferee shall be liable for compliance with all\nprovisions of this section and section four hundred fifty-three of the\ngeneral business law, including the repayment of any moneys and\nprovision of funeral merchandise and services, if the transferor or a\ntransferor's predecessor in interest was liable for compliance with the\nrequirements of this section and section four hundred fifty-three of the\ngeneral business law. Such liability shall attach whether or not the\nsuccessor in interest has, upon conveyance of such funeral firm,\nreceived such moneys or has knowledge of the existence of any agreements\ndescribed herein. Such liability shall attach where there is proof of a\nvalid agreement for providing funeral merchandise and services, and the\nfuneral firm, funeral director or undertaker has not refunded the moneys\nreceived from the customer.\n (c) Upon the sale or other transfer of any funeral firm having\nreceived such moneys, or upon a transfer of control of such moneys, the\ntransferor shall disclose a complete accounting of all moneys\ntransferred pursuant to such agreement to the transferee, including the\nnames and addresses of all persons who deposited moneys with such\nfuneral firm, the amount and location of such moneys, the names and\naddresses of persons who have received refunds and the amount of such\nrefund.\n (d) Upon the termination, cessation of operation or discontinuation of\nany funeral firm, or a successor in interest which has received moneys\nin connection with any agreement described in subdivision one of this\nsection or is otherwise liable for compliance with the requirements of\nthis section or section four hundred fifty-three of the general business\nlaw, such funeral firm or successor shall, within thirty days of such\ntermination, cessation of operation or discontinuation, repay all such\nmoneys and accrued interest as if a demand had been made therefor.\n 4. Records required by this section to be maintained and true copies\nof agreements shall be retained for four years following the provisions\nof funeral merchandise and services. In the event the funds are returned\nto the person who deposited the money or their representative, such\nrecords, including the record of return of funds shall be retained for a\nperiod of four years after the sale, transfer, termination, cessation of\noperation or discontinuance of the funeral firm.\n