On February 22, 2017, the Boca Raton Forum section of the Ft. Lauderdale Florida Sun Sentinel Newspaper featured an article titled “Ashes to Ashes.” The subject of the article was stories about people that had cremated remains of relatives in their houses and they did not know what to do with them.

  The first story was about a discussion between the author of the article and a fellow employee named Bill. Bill was telling the author that he did not know what to do about his mother. The author was confused because the mother had passed away over 20 years ago. Bill clarified that the mother’s remains had been cremated and the cremated remains were taken home. Initially the cremated remains were placed in the linen closet and then transferred to a guest room. When the guest room was converted to an office, the cremated remains disappeared. Bill told the author he expected the cremated remains would turn up sooner or later. Bill chastised the author for being judgmental and inquired where the author’s mother’s cremated remains were located. The author responded his mother’s cremated remains were at the cemetery where the family had apparently made arrangements to inurn them.

  Subsequently the author was discussing the conversation with Bill with another friend who said she was not sure where her dad’s cremated remains were located. The dad had died in 2006 and she thought her mother had placed them in a wall unit in her condo because they did not know what to do with them. The friend commented it was not like her dad was going anywhere.

  Another friend thought her mother’s cremated remains were at a sister’s house and her dad’s cremated remains were still at the funeral home. She thought the funeral home had to keep them. Another friend had 8 cremated remains of various parents and stepparents. She said they were downsizing and would have to do something, but she had not marked the boxes so she did not know who was in them.

  Finally, the author quoted another friend who was appalled by the stories when she heard them. This friend responded to the author’s question concerning what she had done with the cremated remains of her parents by indicated she had converted them into jewelry. This friend then showed the author her earrings.

  Frankly, the author of this column was disturbed when the article ended at that point without any indication of the requirements for disposition of cremated remains or any suggestions where the information could be obtained. The following information should, in this author’s opinion, have been provided:

  First, most state laws have provisions dealing with the cremation process and the disposition of cremated remains.

  Second, most state laws have provisions dealing with a funeral directors obligation regarding abandoned cremated remains and usually they are allowed to dispose of the cremated remains after a designated time period.

  Third, the standard Cremation Authorization Form used on a universal basis has a specific section dealing with disposition of the cremated remains that outlines the alternatives.

  Finally, in this author’s opinion, funeral directors and crematories have an ethical and often legal obligation to provide information to consumers about the disposition of the cremated remains. Sadly it appears that this information was not provided to the people discussed in the article.