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You Are Not Alone: Your Rights When Arranging a Child's Funeral

• By Henzi Foundation

If you are finding this because you need it, we are so sorry.

You don't have to read this yourself. Please hand it to someone you trust -- a relative, a friend, a pastor, or a hospital social worker -- and let them make these calls for you.

For whoever is helping: no parent should have to compare prices at a time like this. The law is on this family's side, community is on their side, and there are people whose whole purpose is to help.

What the law gives you

The Federal Trade Commission's Funeral Rule has protected families since 1984. Funeral homes must follow it, and a few of its protections matter most in the first hard days:

  • You can get prices by phone. A funeral home must answer your questions about its prices and offerings, and you do not have to give your name, address, or phone number first. It cannot require you to come in to get that information.
  • You get a General Price List to keep. Anyone who asks about arrangements or prices in person must be offered this itemized list, free. That applies wherever the conversation happens, including your home or a hospital, not only at the funeral home.
  • Prices must be itemized, and you choose. You can buy only what you want rather than accept a package. Before you pay, you must receive a written statement listing each item, its price, and the total.
  • No one may misstate the law to you. A funeral home cannot misrepresent legal, cemetery, or crematory requirements. No state requires a casket for cremation, and no state requires routine embalming for every death.
  • You can buy a casket or urn elsewhere. The funeral home must accept it and cannot charge you a fee for using it.

Please ask about child and infant pricing. The FTC allows funeral homes to set different prices for children and infants, and to keep those on a separate list given only to people asking about a child's funeral. So the list you find online may not be the whole picture. Have someone helping the family: "Do you have different pricing for a child or infant?"

What the law does not do yet

A funeral home does not have to post its prices online, and it does not have to send you the list after a phone call, though it must answer your questions and many will send it if asked. The FTC has looked at this question, but we have not found any change to the rule.

That leaves many families in the dark. One consumer-group survey looked at funeral homes in 25 cities: of the 193 with websites, only 27% posted any prices, and only 16% posted a complete General Price List. That survey is several years old and does not describe Cincinnati specifically, but it matches what many families still find: little or no pricing online.

Cincinnati-area homes that post their price lists

Some local providers do make these lists easy to find. This is a casual search, not an endorsement of them or a dismissal of the funeral homes not listed. This is not a complete list; we simply found these price lists online in October 2026. Many good funeral homes do not post prices simply because maintaining a website isn't their primary focus—ensuring your child's dignity is. A phone call is all it takes instead, to start preparing.

Prices change, and a posted list can be out of date, so please confirm with the provider, especially for the two older lists above. Publishing prices also tells you about openness, not about care. Please read recent reviews too, or ask someone you trust who has been through this.

You do not have to do this alone

This may be the best reason of all to lean on someone. Bring a friend to the meeting. Let a family member make the calls. Reach out to people who have walked this road:

Reach out to one of the resources listed on our page - someone in the group can help or their leadership knows where to direct you.

If something does not feel right

You will never be wrong to ask a question or ask for something in writing. If you believe a funeral home refused to give you prices or misled you, you can report it to the FTC and to the Ohio Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors. Other states have their own licensing boards, including Kentucky and Indiana for families nearby.

This page is general information, not legal advice. State rules can add to the federal rule.

Laws were written to protect you. People exist to help you. You are not alone.

Sources

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