COLORADO, USA — The shock hit Rich Schneider over coffee as he watched the news last week: the funeral director who he paid in advance to handle his future cremation was wanted by police after they found a woman’s decomposing body inside a hearse a year and a half after his business closed for financial reasons.
Seven years before that, in 2017, Schneider paid Miles Harford to pre-plan his eventual cremation, something he wanted to do after his father passed away and didn’t have a plan. Schneider had helped a friend plan a funeral the year before, and people had recommended Harford and his company, Apollo Funeral and Cremation Services.
“I had this really great experience with Apollo funeral home helping my friend," Schneider said. "I'm like, 'I'm going to do the same,'” he said.
Schneider said the process was relatively seamless. Harford provided a contract that seemed legitimate and charged him about $1,200 up front. At the time, Harford said the money would be held in a trust in his name until it was time to pay for the service. Schneider was given a form with a US Bank account number indicating the trust.
In 2021, after Schneider became the primary caregiver for his friend’s mother, Nancy, he approached Harford again for the same service.
He said this time, Harford conducted all the business online but still provided a similar contract. Schneider said Nancy paid about $1,300 to Harford, but that Harford didn’t provide any documentation of a trust account in her name.
“I did ask him way back when with both of these was, 'Hey, if you go out of business, like businesses do, what happens to our money?'” Schneider said. “And he said it goes into a trust.”
“The one thing I never thought to ask was, 'Who has that trust? Literally, where's that money? And where is it sitting?'”
After the Harford story broke earlier this month, Schneider said he checked with US Bank and couldn’t find an account in either his or Nancy’s name.
“I think both of our money is gone,” he said.
Joe Walsh, owner of 5280 Cremations and the president of the Colorado Funeral Director’s Association, said from his understanding, any money paid to Apollo Funeral and Cremation Services is gone.
“The only recourse they have is civil against [Harford],” Walsh said. “He formed his own trust, as I understand, but he also liquidated his own trust.”
“That’s not meant to happen, but you’re not supposed to keep a body in a hearse for two years. Rule following was probably not the strongest point there.”
Walsh said when it comes to prepaid funerals, funeral directors these days tend to turn to insurance policies.
“The funeral home does not handle the money in any way, shape, or form, all money goes directly to the insurance company,” Walsh said. “So there is zero chance of skimming anything off the top.”
He said funeral directors also use a Master Trust, run by the Colorado Funeral Directors Association, which holds money for all funeral homes and only releases the funds when funeral directors present the proper paperwork, like a death certificate.
“If a family is looking to prearrange with a funeral home, definitely ask them what vehicle they use,” Walsh said. “Do they use a trust? If so, which trust? Or do they use an insurance policy?”
Recent horror stories from funeral homes in Colorado have left some families wondering how they should pick a funeral director.
Walsh said anyone choosing a funeral home should check license information on the Department of Regulatory Agency’s website. They can also search the Colorado Funeral Directors Association website for registered members, who have to agree to follow the association’s code of ethics.
He recommends shopping around for a funeral home.
“Much like if you're buying a car, horrible analogy, but you don't go to the one car lot, look at that one single car and then spend $50,000,” he said. “You're generally looking at multiple different cars. Now we're not dropping $50,000. But this is our loved one.”
“I say follow your gut and make sure that you're good with your decision. If something doesn't feel right, it probably isn't.”
Schneider said he can’t trust that the money he spent for himself and Nancy will still be there.
“I'm looking into it, places that have been around for a really long time, and having to do my homework because now I'm having to shop again,” he said.
Schneider contends he lost more than his money in this situation.
“It's the peace of mind,” he said. “That's what he took.”
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