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State of Wisconsin Department of Health Services Wisconsin Funeral and Cemetery Aids Program Manual (WFCAP) History |
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State of Wisconsin Department of Health Services Wisconsin Funeral and Cemetery Aids Program Manual (WFCAP) History |
2.2 Who May Apply for WFCAP Payments
2.3.1 Reporting Total Funeral Expenses
2.3.2 Reporting Total Cemetery/Crematory Expenses
2.4 Determining whether it is a Funeral Home or Cemetery/Crematory Expense
2.4.1 Who Provides the Service
2.5 Payment of Funeral Expenses
2.5.1 Total Funeral Expense Cap
2.5.2 Funeral Expense Payment Limit
2.5.3 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Statement
2.5.4.1 Third Party Cash Advances
2.5.4.2 Cemetery/Crematory Cash Advances
2.6 Payment of Cemetery/Crematory Expenses
2.6.1 Total Cemetery/Crematory Expense Cap
2.6.2 Cemetery/Crematory Expense Payment Limit
2.10.1 Time Limit for Application Adjustments
Total funeral and cemetery/crematory expenses must be reported by the funeral home, cemetery, or crematory using the most recently published WFCAP Application, F-10141. Only this form is accepted. Payment requests not submitted on the proper form will be denied.
Funeral homes, cemeteries, and crematories are encouraged, but not required, to submit a combined application form covering both funeral and cemetery/crematory expenses for a decedent. Either the funeral home or the cemetery/crematory may submit the application form. However, the application must be signed by each service provider requesting payment.
If it is not possible to coordinate the submission of a combined form, separate forms may be submitted.
Only funeral homes, cemeteries, and crematories may submit an application to request a WFCAP payment. These entities are referred to as service providers in this manual. Family members and other non-providers cannot submit an application (see Section 5.1 Denying or Reducing Payments).
Total funeral and cemetery/crematory expenses are defined as actual expenses for all goods and services provided prior to any discounts or payments. Estimates will not be considered and will delay the application review process.
Note 1: Throughout this manual, provided means sold.
Note 2: Payments will not be approved or issued if the goods or services have not yet been provided.
Whether goods or services are provided before or after death, the funeral home must report the total actual charges associated with the goods or services that it or other funeral homes in the same corporation provide (refer to examples 1 and 5).
The funeral home must also report total actual charges associated with goods or services provided by others but, for which, the funeral home pays. Such cash advances are generally not counted toward the total funeral expense cap (see Section 2.5.4 Cash Advances), however, they must still be reported as part of the application and clearly identified as cash advances.
Where goods or services are directly provided by others (not cash advanced), including items bought by the decedent or their family through a third party, funeral homes are not required to report these expenses (refer to examples 2-4). The cost of these goods and services are neither applied toward the total funeral expense cap (see Section 2.5.4 Cash Advances), nor are they eligible for payment.
If more than one funeral home provides goods or services and submits separate applications, the combined total funeral expenses are subject to the total funeral expense cap of $4,500.
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Example 1: Funeral Home A and Funeral Home B are both owned by the same corporation. Mr. Davis passes away. Funeral Home B transports the deceased to Funeral Home A, which provides the remainder of the funeral services. Funeral Home A must include as part of the total funeral home expenses the actual expenses for the transportation services provided by Funeral Home B. |
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Example 2: On behalf of the family of the deceased, Funeral Home A purchases flowers for $350, pays $250 for the obituary notice, pays the pastor $100, and purchases copies of the death certificate for $40 for a total of $740 in cash advanced items. The funeral home charges the family $740 for these services. Funeral Home A must report these expenses as a cash advance, but these expenses will not be counted toward the $4,500 total funeral expense cap (nor are they eligible for payment). |
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Example 3: After discussions with the director of Funeral Home B, the family of the deceased purchases flowers on its own, pays for the obituary notice and pays the pastor for presiding over the service. Funeral Home B does not provide or cash advance any of these services. Funeral Home B does not need to identify these expenses on the Statement of Funeral Goods and Services Selected or report these expenses as part of the total funeral expenses. |
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Example 4: Mr. and Mrs. Davis purchase their coffins over the internet and store them in the garage pending their deaths. Mr. Davis passes away. Funeral Home A is not responsible for reporting the expenses for Mr. Davis' coffin as part of the total funeral expense, because they did not provide the coffin. |
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Example 5: Mr. and Mrs. Davis purchase their coffins from Funeral Home A. Mr. Davis passes away. Funeral Home A provided the coffins and therefore, must report:
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Cemeteries and crematories must report total actual expenses for the goods or services that they provide, whether those goods or services are provided before or after death (refer to examples 6 and 7).
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Example 6: Mr. and Mrs. Davis purchase their burial plots from Cemetery A. Mr. Davis has subsequently passed away and is buried at Cemetery A. Cemetery A provided the burial plot and therefore, must report:
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Example 7: Mr. and Mrs. Davis commission a renowned sculptor to create their headstones. Mr. Davis has subsequently passed away and is buried at Cemetery A. Cemetery A is not responsible for reporting the expenses for Mr. Davis’s headstone as part of the total cemetery/crematory expenses because Cemetery A did not provide the headstone. |
Accurate payment depends on knowing whether an expense is a funeral home or cemetery/crematory expense.
Funeral home expenses are subject to the total funeral expense cap and payment limit (see Section 2.5 Payment of Funeral Expenses).
Cemetery expenses are subject to the total cemetery/crematory expense cap and payment limit (see Section 2.6 Payment of Cemetery/Crematory Expenses).
If the funeral home sets up a crematory as a standalone business, then the goods or services provided by the crematory may be counted as a cemetery/crematory expense. To be considered a standalone business eligible to receive a cemetery/crematory payment, the crematory must have a different tax ID number than the funeral home.
If the good or service is provided by a funeral home (including cremation), the expense is considered to be a funeral expense. If the good or service is provided by a cemetery or a standalone crematory, the expense is considered to be a cemetery/crematory expense. If a good or service is provided by a vendor other than a funeral home, cemetery, or crematory and cash advanced by the funeral home, the cash advance policy (see Section 2.5.4 Cash Advances) applies (refer to example 12).
Exception
Some small and rural cemeteries require but cannot provide certain goods or services and therefore, rely on a funeral home to provide those goods or services on the cemetery's behalf (for example, the outer burial vault, opening and closing of the grave, etc.) (refer to example 12). Under only this circumstance can the good or service be counted as a cemetery expense, even though it is provided by a funeral home. Funeral homes should document this circumstance on the Statement of Funeral Goods and Services Selected. If there is no indication, the exception will not apply and the good or service will count as a funeral expense.
Note: The cemetery may be contacted to verify if they meet this exception.
If the total funeral expenses exceed $4,500, payment will not be approved for any of the funeral expenses unless any special circumstances have been approved (see Section 2.7 Special Circumstances and refer to example 8).
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Example 8: The total funeral home expenses are $4,700. The estate is able to pay $3,700. Because the funeral home expense exceeds the cap of $4,500 and there are no special circumstances, the payment will not be approved. |
WFCAP payment for funeral expenses is limited to the lesser of:
$1,500, or
Any amount for which the estate of the deceased is insufficient to pay and that is not paid for by other sources.
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Example 9: The total funeral home expenses are $3,000. The estate is able to pay $2,200. The funeral home may be eligible for a WFCAP payment of $800 for the funeral expenses. |
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires funeral directors, nationwide, to use a Statement of Funeral Goods and Services Selected, as a way of indicating to their customers what is being purchased and the associated charges. The FTC does not mandate a specific format for the Statement of Funeral Goods and Services Selected. The information the FTC requires on the Statement, as well as many other federal requirements that apply to the funeral business, is available at the FTC's website.
A copy of the Statement of Funeral Goods and Services Selected must accompany the application (see Section 5.1 Denying or Reducing Payments). The Statement of Funeral Goods and Services Selected must be an identical copy of that given to the executor or family representative and must accurately reflect the goods or services provided and the associated costs.
Third party cash advances are goods or services obtained by a funeral home from a third party. These expenses are paid for by the funeral home on behalf of and subject to reimbursement from a person purchasing services from the funeral home. Cash advances are commonly made by funeral homes for services such as cemetery or crematory services, pallbearers, transportation, clergy honoraria, flowers, musicians or vocalists, nurses, obituary notices, gratuities, and death certificates. Cash advances are not limited to these goods or services.
Usually, the funeral home asks the executor or family representative to reimburse an amount equal to what was advanced. However, a funeral home can charge additional sums for the service of making cash advances on behalf of the family of the deceased. For example, a funeral home may advance a $175 payment for an obituary expense to the local newspaper; when billing the family, the funeral home adds a $20 service fee for a total of $195.
By FTC rule, whenever the funeral home bills for more than the actual amount of the cash advance, the service fee added to the expense must be identified on the Statement of Funeral Goods and Services Selected.
When the funeral home requests the family to reimburse it for cash advances in the same amount as the cash advance that was made, the cash advance will not be counted toward the $4,500 funeral expense cap and will not be eligible for WFCAP payment (refer to example 10).
If the cash advance on the funeral home billing includes service fees, the total amount is considered towards the $4,500 funeral expense cap, or the $3,500 cemetery expense cap, or both, as appropriate (refer to example 11).
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Example 10: Funeral home expenses are $1,200 for basic services of the funeral director and staff. The funeral home cash advances the following:
The funeral home billing for these cash advances is $270. Since there is no service fee added, the cash advanced amount is not included in the total funeral expenses on the application and is not eligible for WFCAP payment. The total funeral expense in this instance would be $1,200. The funeral home would be eligible for a $1,200 WFCAP payment for funeral expenses, less any contribution from the estate or other sources towards the funeral expenses. |
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Example 11: The funeral home expenses are $1,200 for basic services of the funeral director and staff. The funeral home cash advances the following:
The funeral home indicates on the Statement of Funeral Goods and Services Selected that it charges a 10% service fee on cash advance items so it charges $297 ($270+$27) for these cash advances. The total funeral expenses in this instance would be $1,497 ($1,200+$297). Since the cash advance was subject to a service fee, both the advanced amount and the service fee are included in the total funeral expenses amount on the application and are eligible for WFCAP payment. The funeral home would be eligible for a $1,497 WFCAP payment for funeral expenses, less any contribution from the estate or other sources towards the funeral expenses. |
Cemetery/crematory cash advances are goods or services obtained by a funeral home from a cemetery/crematory. These expenses are provided by the cemetery/crematory, but paid for by the funeral home on behalf of and subject to reimbursement from a person purchasing services from the funeral home (refer to examples 12 and 13).
For cash advances from the funeral home to the cemetery/crematory to be considered for WFCAP payment, the goods or services must be paid in full. In addition, a service fee must be added to the cash advance and the expense must be identified on the Statement of Funeral Goods and Services Selected (see Section 2.5.4.1 Third Party Cash Advances).
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Example 12: The funeral home expenses are $2,000 for basic services of the funeral director and staff, $1,200 for a coffin, and $900 for an outer burial container. The funeral home cash advances the following:
The funeral home indicates on the application that the cemetery is small and rural and requires an outer burial container. Once the small and rural exception is approved, the $900 for the burial container is considered a cemetery expense even though it is provided by the funeral home (see Section 2.4.1 Who Provides the Service). The cash advance is $650 for the cemetery’s expense. The funeral home indicates on the Statement of Funeral Goods and Services Selected that it charges a 10% service fee ($65) on cash advance items so it charges $715 ($650+$65) for these cash advances. The total funeral expenses are $3,200, and the total cemetery expenses are $1,615 (900+715). The funeral home would be eligible for the lesser of $1,500 or any amount for which the estate of the deceased is insufficient to pay and that is not paid by other sources for the funeral. The funeral home would also be eligible for the lesser of $1,000, or any amount for which the estate of the decedent is insufficient to pay and that is not paid by other sources for cemetery expenses (see Section 2.6.2 Cemetery/Crematory Expense Payment Limit). |
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Example 13: Funeral home expenses are $2,500 for basic services of the funeral director and staff, and $900 for the opening and closing of the grave. The funeral home cash advances $900 for the opening and closing of the grave. The funeral home indicates on the Statement of Funeral Goods and Services Selected that it charges a 10% service fee on cash advance items so it charges $990 ($900 x 10% = $90) for the cash advance. The funeral home would be eligible for the lesser of $990 or any amount for which the estate of the decedent is insufficient to pay and that is not paid by other sources for the cemetery/crematory expense if they provide to WFCAP verifying documentation that the cash advance to the cemetery/crematory has been paid. |
Note 1: The funeral home must check the box on the application for cash advance (refer to Sections 3 and 8 of the application) and provide the funeral director's initials.
Note 2: Cash advances made by the funeral home for cemetery/crematory expenses must still be counted toward the $3,500 cemetery/crematory cap. If a cash advance is not counted toward the total expense limit, then it is not part of the total expenses and will not be paid.
If the total cemetery/crematory expenses exceed $3,500, payment will not be approved for any of the cemetery/crematory expenses, unless special circumstances have been approved (see Section 2.7 Special Circumstances and refer to example 14).
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Example 14: The total cemetery/crematory expense is $3,800. The estate is able to pay $2,900, leaving $900 still owed. Because the cemetery/crematory expense exceeds the cap of $3,500, and there are no special circumstances, a WFCAP payment will not be approved. |
WFCAP payment for cemetery or crematory expenses is limited to the lesser of:
$1,000, or
Any amount for which the estate of the deceased is insufficient to pay and which is not paid by other sources.
Under special circumstances (for example, an oversized casket, transporting the deceased a long distance), the total expense caps (see Section 2.5.1 Total Funeral Expense Cap for funeral and Section 2.6.1 Total Cemetery/Crematory Expense Cap for cemetery/crematory caps) as well as the payment limits (see Section 2.5.2 Funeral Expense Payment Limit for funeral and Section 2.6.2 Cemetery/Crematory Expense Payment Limit for cemetery/crematory limits) may be exceeded. On an individual case basis, it will be determined whether circumstances exist to justify exceeding these limits.
Unless it is determined that special circumstances exist:
Payment will never be approved when the total expense caps have been exceeded, and
Payment will never be approved above the specified payment limits.
Special circumstances must be documented by the service provider and submitted with the application.
Service providers receiving WFCAP payments are exempt from paying fees for services rendered by a coroner or medical examiner. This includes fees assessed for the signing of a death certificate by a coroner or medical examiner. Service providers are also exempt from paying fees assessed by a county related to transportation services.
If these fees are included in a payment request for decedents with a date of death on or after October 3, 2016, the fees will be denied and not applied to the funeral or cemetery/crematory expense caps.
Wis. Stat. § 49.785(1m)(d)
If a decedent is named as the insured on a life insurance policy, and the face value of the policy is more than $3,000, the life insurance benefit amount that exceeds $3,000 must be used to pay for the decedent’s funeral, cemetery, and/or cremation expenses. WFCAP payment is available only for remaining unmet amounts. A service provider's payment amount will be reduced by one dollar for every dollar by which the face value of the policy exceeds $3,000 (see Section 4.1 Life Insurance Reduction). This applies to decedents with a date of death on or after October 3, 2016.
This policy applies to any life insurance policy issued on or after October 3, 2016, where the decedent is named as the insured, regardless of who owns the life insurance policy or who is named as the beneficiary. With the assistance of the executor or family representative, service providers are expected to disclose on the application all life insurance policies insuring the decedent’s life, and submit verifying documentation (see Section 3.3 Verification of Life Insurance) for these policies.
A WFCAP payment must be requested within 12 months of the date of death. This means that a complete application must be received no later than the end of the 12th calendar month following the month of death.
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Example 15: Mrs. Smith passed away on June 2, 2012. The funeral home submitted a WFCAP application in January 2013. The application is timely. |
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Example 16: Mr. Jones passed away on May 15, 2012. On June 1, 2013 the local cemetery submitted a WFCAP application. The application is late, and will be denied. The last possible date for this application to be considered timely was May 31, 2013. |
Application adjustments must be made within 12 months of the date of death. Application adjustments are subject to existing payment policy.
This page last updated in Release Number: 17-01
Release Date: 03/01/2017
Effective Date: 03/01/2017