And So Begins My New Life

Join me as I embark on a new life and new career in Funeral Services.

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Location: Southeast, United States

I'm a Funeral Services graduate embarking on a new career. I graduated high school in 1981, served honorably in the United States Navy from 1982-1986, been married since 1986, and have one son. I've relocated to a new state and have begun working in my chosen profession of Funeral Services, and I've never been happier.

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Monday, September 24, 2007

It Is Begun

Today I mailed off my application to take my Funeral Director and Embalmer State Board exam. This test will be the final step on my road to becoming a fully licensed funeral director/embalmer. Thankfully, the funeral home paid the application fee, which was $575. That's not a typo. Five Hundred and Seventy Five dollars. I'd better pass it the first time, because I have a feeling I'll be paying for a re-test out of my own pocket.

The only problem I'm having is studying. If this were a textbook, I could read through it, take notes, no problem. But this is simply a list of funeral related laws. They read like this:
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, no cemetery company shall directly or indirectly enter into a contract for sale of personal property or services, excluding burial or interment rights, which may be used in a cemetery in connection with disposing of human remains, or commemorating the memory of a deceased human being, if delivery of the personal property or performance of the service is to be made more than 120 days after the receipt of the final payment under the contract of the sale, except as provided in s. 497.417. This shall include, but not be limited to, the sale for future delivery of burial vaults, grave liners, urns, memorials, vases, foundations, memorial bases, and similar merchandise and related services commonly sold or used in cemeteries and interment fees but excluding burial or interment rights.

Try wading through 300 pages of this crap. To make matters worse, the test is only about 50-75 questions long, and I must pass with at least a 75. This means, if the test is 50 questions long, I can only miss 12 before I fail.

The breakdown on the material and it's value is as follows:
Practice Laws 40-50%
Preeneed contracts 16-20%
Medical Examiner 4-6%
Vital Statistics 10-16%
Disposition 10-16%
Offenses 8-16%

6 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey Granimore,

Did you get my message the other day? Me and a buddy on mine will be in your neck of the country this Friday and Saturday.
Good luck studying for the state test. I'm sure you will do fine!

Later,
DM

9:38 PM  
Blogger Granimore said...

It would be great to see you! I'm off this weekend. Maybe we can have lunch or supper.

9:45 PM  
Blogger Kim said...

ugh, I would rewrite every law on a flashcard, in English. Maybe include specific examples of people, cases, experiences (real or TV, etc.) that relate to each law to trigger your memory.

Good luck! when's the exam?

10:39 AM  
Blogger Granimore said...

I appreciate the suggestion, Sharkbait, but at about 250 pages, with multiple entries per page, it would be very impractical.
I do not know when my test will be. The Board will review my application, and if everything is in order, will notify me as to when and where I can take the test. I'll keep my progress posted here.

3:16 PM  
Blogger Sheila said...

If you study hard, you will probably be more prepared than you think. Good luck. Legalise is never fun to decipher and I wonder why the legislators don't try to simply the language.

6:47 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You might want to obtain a copy of the "Annotated Statutes". The Annotated Statutes contain explanatory footnotes along with references to Court Decisions in your jurisdiction (your State) and are thus easier to digest than the raw statutes. Copies of the Annotated Statutes can be found at any Law School Library -- or online if you know anyone who has access to Lexis Nexus Academic Universe (available to most College Students). Good Luck.

7:29 AM  

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