Bill Text: IA SF162 | 2017-2018 | 87th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to the effect of certain directives contained in agreements for prearranged funeral services or cemetery and funeral merchandise and including an applicability date.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-01-31 - Subcommittee: Bertrand, McCoy, and Sinclair. S.J. 187. [SF162 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2017-SF162-Introduced.html

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Senate File 162 - Introduced




                                 SENATE FILE       
                                 BY  TAYLOR, BISIGNANO, and
                                     McCOY

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to the effect of certain directives contained
  2    in agreements for prearranged funeral services or cemetery
  3    and funeral merchandise and including an applicability date.
  4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  144C.5A  Agreements for prearranged
  1  2 funeral services or cemetery and funeral merchandise ==
  1  3 exception.
  1  4    Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter
  1  5 to the contrary, if a decedent entered into an agreement
  1  6 for prearranged funeral services or cemetery and funeral
  1  7 merchandise as defined in and executed under chapter 523A and
  1  8 all payments under the agreement have been made in full, any
  1  9 directives contained in that agreement for final disposition of
  1 10 the decedent's remains and arrangements for ceremonies planned
  1 11 after the decedent's death shall be carried out, to the extent
  1 12 that such directives are reasonable under the circumstances.
  1 13    Sec. 2.  APPLICABILITY.  This Act applies to all deaths
  1 14 occurring on or after the effective date of this Act.
  1 15                           EXPLANATION
  1 16 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  1 17 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  1 18    This bill creates new Code section 144C.5A which provides
  1 19 that notwithstanding any other provision of Code chapter 144C
  1 20 to the contrary, if a deceased adult entered into an agreement
  1 21 for prearranged funeral services or cemetery and funeral
  1 22 merchandise as defined in and executed under Code chapter
  1 23 523A and all payments under the agreement have been made in
  1 24 full, the directives contained in that agreement for final
  1 25 disposition of the decedent's remains or ceremonies to be held
  1 26 after the decedent's death must be carried out, to the extent
  1 27 that such directives are reasonable under the circumstances.
  1 28    Currently, Code chapter 144C provides that a person
  1 29 specified in the statute (either a person designated by the
  1 30 decedent in a declaration, a member of the decedent's family,
  1 31 or another specified person) has the "sole responsibility and
  1 32 discretion" and "right to control" final disposition of a
  1 33 decedent's remains and the arrangements for a ceremony after
  1 34 the decedent's death.  The statute specifically prohibits a
  1 35 decedent from including directives concerning final disposition
  2  1 of the decedent's remains or arrangements for post=death
  2  2 ceremonies in a declaration.
  2  3    The bill creates an exception to this right of control by
  2  4 a person other than the decedent, where the decedent has a
  2  5 validly executed agreement for prearranged funeral services or
  2  6 cemetery and funeral merchandise.
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