Louisiana § RS 37:864 - Cancellation of preneed funeral contracts

§ RS 37:864. Cancellation of preneed funeral contracts

A.  Unless waived as provided in Subsection B of this Section, any buyer of a preneed funeral contract may cancel that contract and receive a full refund of all monies connected with that contract at any time within ten days after the buyer signed the contract.  After the expiration of this ten day period, a preneed funeral contract may be cancelled as hereinafter provided.

B.  Where an application by the buyer or funeral recipient for government benefits is pending, the buyer may waive his or her right to cancel the preneed funeral contract as provided in Subsection A of this Section by signing a written waiver of that right.

C.(1)  If a preneed funeral contract is revocable, the buyer, or his legal representative, may cancel the preneed funeral contract at any time by sending written notice of such cancellation, via certified mail, return receipt requested, to the funeral establishment.

(2)  If a funeral trust account has been established to fund that preneed funeral contract, the funeral establishment shall within ten business days after the notice of cancellation is received forward a copy of said notice of cancellation to the financial institution holding on deposit the funeral trust account, and take all necessary steps to ensure that all funds contained in that funeral trust account are refunded to the buyer, less any charge for early withdrawal imposed by the financial institution.

(3)  If a preneed insurance policy or annuity was purchased or provided to fund a preneed funeral contract, the funeral establishment shall forward a copy of the notice of cancellation of that preneed funeral contract to the insurance company which issued the preneed insurance policy or annuity.

D.  If a preneed funeral contract is irrevocable during the life of the funeral recipient the contract shall not be revocable by either party nor shall the buyer be entitled to a return of the monies or any preneed insurance policy or annuity delivered to the funeral establishment except by order of a court of competent jurisdiction.

E.  No funeral establishment shall impose any surcharge, fee, or other penalty, monetary or otherwise, when any person seeks to exercise his right to cancel a preneed funeral contract.

Acts 2008, No. 799, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2009.