When a casket, vault, or headstone is not what your family paid for

Call (305) 209-0384 Read the questions first ↓

Read the questions first

• The headstone was never installed. What can we do?
• The inscription is wrong. Who fixes it?
• We were told a sealed casket would stop decay. Is that true?
• Can the cemetery and the monument company blame each other?

What Florida law says

Headstones and monuments. A monument establishment is a business, separate from a cemetery or funeral home, that sells monuments for placement in a cemetery (§ 497.005(49), Fla. Stat.).

• Every retail sale must be on a sales agreement form approved by the state. The form must completely describe the monument or marker and clearly state the agreed date for delivery and installation (§ 497.553(2)).
• If the monument is not delivered and installed by the agreed date, the customer is entitled to a full refund of what was paid for the monument and its delivery and installation, unless the customer agreed in writing to extend the date. The refund is due within 30 days after the business receives the customer's written request (§ 497.553(5)).
• Monument establishments must have written procedures for handling customer complaints and must keep records of written complaints (§ 497.553(3)–(4)).

Caskets and vaults. Chapter 497 lists conduct for which a licensee can be disciplined, including:

• falsely claiming that a gasketed or ungasketed casket, or a sealed closure on an outer burial container, can prevent or substantially delay natural decomposition (§ 497.152(10)(f));
• false statements about whether the law requires a casket or outer burial container (§ 497.152(10)(h));
• failing to clearly mark the price of each casket offered for sale, and failing to display the least expensive adult casket in the same general manner as the others (§ 497.152(12)(f), (11)(f)).

What the law may provide

Florida lets any person bring a civil action against a person or company that violates Chapter 497, for actual damages, punitive damages as the common law allows, and other relief (§ 497.169(1)). The sales agreement or funeral contract may also support a claim, and a defective product may raise other claims. Florida has a special attorney's-fee rule for certain cases against monument establishments, cemeteries, and preneed sellers (§ 497.169(2)). We explain how it could affect your family before anything is filed.

What to keep and request

• The sales agreement or contract, with the model, description, and agreed delivery date.
• Invoices, receipts, and any warranty.
• The approved proof of the inscription, if there was one.
• Photographs of the grave, the marker, or the casket.
• All messages with the funeral home, cemetery, or monument company.
• Your written refund request, with proof of the date it was received.

The deadline

Two years. Florida law gives a negligence claim two years (§ 95.11(5)(a)). Some claims may carry a longer period, but no family should bet on that. We treat two years from the day it happened as the deadline in every case, and you should too. If you only just found out, call anyway: when the clock started is a question we answer case by case.

What to do first

Find the sales agreement and check the agreed delivery date. Put your complaint or refund request in writing and keep proof of when it was received. Talk to a lawyer before signing a new agreement or an extension. See What to do right now.

Questions families ask

The headstone was never installed. What can we do?

Check the agreed date in your sales agreement. If that date has passed and you did not agree in writing to extend it, Florida law gives you a right to a full refund of what you paid for the monument, delivery, and installation, due within 30 days after the business receives your written request.

The inscription is wrong. Who fixes it?

Start with the approved proof and the sales agreement, which must describe the monument completely. Send the business a written complaint; Florida requires monument establishments to have procedures for handling one.

We were told a sealed casket would stop decay. Is that true?

Florida makes it a ground for discipline to falsely claim that a gasketed casket or a sealed vault closure can prevent or substantially delay natural decomposition. If you were told that, write down who said it and when.

Can the cemetery and the monument company blame each other?

Often they try. We look at each contract and who was responsible for each step, from the order to the installation.

Talk to Dennis

When you are ready, call or send a WhatsApp message, in English or Spanish. The office answers 24 hours.

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