HB2249 – Relating to Personal Representatives and Probate

personal representatives; funeral directors; prohibition – Introduced by Representative Bollick Read introduced version here: https://www.azleg.gov/legtext/54leg/2R/bills/HB2249P.htm Accepted Amended version: https://www.azleg.gov/legtext/54leg/2R/bills/HB2249H.htm This bill prohibit Funeral Directors and/or Funeral Establishment Owners from appointing themselves as personal executives of the estate. AFCCA Position: We support a bill that will help regulate probate as it stands to the funeral industry, we have been working to ensure verbiage is correct. This bill will most likely pass, and we will hopefully be able to …

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SB 1136 – Relating to Funeral Director Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships; funeral directors; embalmers; cremationists- Introduced by Senator Pace Read introduced version here: https://www.azleg.gov/legtext/54leg/2R/bills/SB1136P.htm This bill will allow a funeral home to start an Apprenticeship program through the US Department of Labor to forgo attending an accredited college to receive their degree in Mortuary Science. It does not affect obtaining a license, but it does eliminate the need for education. Please view the US Dept of Labor Apprenticeship Program at this website (search for Funeral Director): …

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2020 Cemetery Maintenance Seminar Recap

On February 12th, 2020 we held another fantastic Cemetery Maintenance Seminar, held at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in Avondale, AZ.  Thank you to Paty Rodriguez, Michaela Cannon, Rudy and the rest of the staff for working so hard to make sure this event was the success it was! We had a great lineup of speakers this year that covered everything from historical markers, lots and lots of soil and water conservation. Thank You Speakers Cleaning …

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Maricopa County of Vital Registration (MCOVR) – East Valley Relocation

Dear Funeral Home Partners & Stakeholders, Effective Monday, February 24, 2020, we will open our doors to the public at 331 E. Coury Avenue, Mesa, AZ  85210.  The last date of service at the location on 4419 E Main St., Ste. 105 in Mesa will be Friday, February 28, 2020.  For those funeral home establishments who do not order death certificates or do not utilize the funeral home charge account, please refer eligible parties or family …

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Now Accepting Applications: 2020-2021 National Board Exam Committee

National Board Exam Committee Each year, The Conference Board of Directors appoints members of the NBE Arts and NBE Sciences Committees to serve a one-year, voluntary appointment. Committee members are dually licensed practitioners from across the country who are responsible for maintaining the National Board Exam. These subject-matter experts provide general oversight of the licensing examination. This includes item development, with an ongoing mission to maintain and review items at various stages of the exam …

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FTC Funeral Rule Review: What to Expect

Written for NFDA’s Memorial Business Journal – January 23, 2020 Vol. 11 No. 4 www.nfda.org CHICAGO – Last year was supposed to be the year that the FTC’s Funeral Rule would be opened up for review – 2019 came and went without this much anticipated event taking place. During their presentation at the recent NFDA International Convention & Expo, “FTC Funeral Rule: Reducing Your Risk,” T. Scott Gilligan, NFDA general counsel, and Patti Poss, coordinator …

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An Evening With Michael Seaver

Last Wednesday we had an Evening With Michael S. Seaver, where we discussed our biggest source of stress, we defined our core values and then received practical applications to help relieve our compassion fatigue and avoid burnout. It was interesting to see how everyone narrowed down their core values. It was harder than you would imagine since you have to determine whether it’s actually a core value of yours or if it’s how you would like …

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Scam Warning Letter from the Arizona State Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers

Please read the letter linked below issued from Judith Stapley from the Arizona State Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers. AZ State Board – Scam Warning Letter 12-23-19 Be aware of calls from Heritage Cremation Providers, LLC and Legacy Funeral Services, LLC for cremation requests. It is up to you to do your due diligence to ensure you are not working with unlicensed providers.  

A Year in Review

As 2019 comes to a close, the AFCCA Board of Directors would like to reflect on all that we accomplished this year. Our mission is to advocate, educate and promote high ethical standards for our members and the families we serve. Advocacy HB2188 -Relating to Funeral Interns, which passed under SB1245. Mortuary Science Graduates can now complete their embalmer and/or funeral director internship and become licensed within one year from graduation. SB1245 – Allowing authorized …

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Fatality Management Planning Workshop Conference Materials

The Fatality Management Planning Workshop held on December 4th at Black Canyon Conference Center now has the conference materials available for download: https://www.azdhs.gov/preparedness/emergency-preparedness/#conferences-2019 As AzDHS receives additional resources from their Colorado partners they will be sharing those resources with us. Also, they are currently building a working website for regional partners to continue working on the fatality management topic. When the site is built out they will share the information with ALPHERA, AZTEC, and AzCHER.