Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Illinois

My Husband Passed in Chicago at a party On July 4, 2010 we thought he had a heart attack but because he was so young ( 35 years old )) an autopsy was performed.... Funeral was July 12, 2010...I was very unhappy with how the funeral director handled the services, she made many mistakes, had the service at the wrong time and just ruined an already tough day. So I filed a Complaint with the state of Illinois, and the District Attorney's office,

Death Certificates were ready by Aug. 11, 2010 took a while to determine cause of death. I called the Vital Records Clerk & The County Morgue In Cook County IL to verify Death Certificates were ready for pick On August 24th .....I was told by both offices that the funeral director should have the copies I paid for by now

On July 7th I paid for 10 copies of the death certificate with the Funeral director during planning the arrangements for his services. I have called many times for death certificates since Aug 2nd or so I was told they were not available and I was hung up on by 2 women that worked there on several occassions. They would not even allow me to speak to the Funeral Director.

They kept saying the certificates are not here a few more weeks, I knew this was untrue by Aug. 24th because I had verified this information with the Clerk & County Morgue Office so Today Aug. 26th at approx. 10:30 am I left headed to chicago and had a Sheriff meet me at the Funeral Director's Office when we approached her she lied said I had never called , said she had NO Address, No Phone Number and basically she had no way to reach me etc.and she said I never called....

I had in Hand Proof Of marriage License in case the cop needed it, Proof I paid for funeral services and Proof of phone records that I had been calling ( I printed my Cell bill online ) and my DLicense he said "she is his wife , why did you not mail the certificates, she made up another lie then she gives the cop the Death Certificates and said she had no way to reach me. My address is on the death certificate and my number has not changed, since the funeral. NONE of my information has changed since the funeral.

Can you sue a Funeral Director for this kind of nonsense.??

I live in One hour and a half away and only drove to Chicago to have the funeral there to respect my husbands wishes he wanted to be buried with his brother, mother, grandmother and father. Or else I would have never dealt with this Unprofessional Funeral Home. I am his wife and we were married from Aug 1995 until he passed On July 4, 2010 ( which was also my birthday) I had a horrible time and I still am emotionally stressed and so is our only daughter

. Is there anything I can do legally to this lady for playing games? I have a Case # from the DIstrict Attorney In Illinois where I filed a complaint, I have countless proof that I have been treated very rudely since dealing with this lady. Do I have case? Can I sue her for pain and suffering? she is a very evil person. It is unthinkable that she would make huge mistakes and then purposely withhold my Own husband's Death Certificates from me just to be evil, and then to Lie and say I never called her when I have extensive proof that I had. I Firlmly believe she is a racist I am puerto rican and black and my husband was white and she looked at me like she was in disbelief when we met, I can think of no other reason why this lady has been so rude to me and my family. Ive had my brother call, my friend call all I wanted was the Death Certificate to get my life insurance policy, and I have to be treated with disrespect? I want to make this lady pay for the extra pain she has caused me , for nothing. I didnt even know what the cause of death was until today Aug 26, 2010. She knew this was important to me and our entire family being how he just died so suddenly and unexpectedly. I even have proof of a letter she wrote me for work . She Rec'd Over $5000 for a funeral but she didnt do anything she was asked by me. The entire grieving process has been a nightmare and dealing with her has been more diffcult than anything I have ever had to deal with in my life.

I have her License # she is a funeral director and embalmer licensed in Illinois & Indiana I want the world to know what type of person she is so they will not suffer and be inconvienced as me and my family have.

Please Help :(


Asked on 8/26/10, 5:27 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Stephen Messutta

You lost your husband, and your grief is one thing. Pressing the funeral director this hard for a few pieces of paper will not do you any good. I respect the fact you paid for the certificates but since you can obtain other copies yourself directly this would probably be the best thing to do. Contemplating a lawsuit to force her to deliver them can not possibly be good for you at this sad time. If you have a copy of the funeral contract that required or provided delivery of certificates I would suggest having an attorney write a letter on your behalf; you can still report them as much as you like, and can still sue in small claims court for your money back (I doubt the court will require them to actually deliver the certificates), but you don't need this grief.

The response given is not intended to create, nor does it create an ongoing duty to respond to questions. The response does not form an attorney-client relationship, nor is it intended to be anything other than the educated opinion of the author. It should not be relied upon as legal advice. The response given is based upon the limited facts provided by the person asking the question. To the extent additional or different facts exist, the response might possibly change. Attorney is currently licensed to practice law only in the State of Illinois. Responses are based solely on Illinois law unless stated otherwise.

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Answered on 9/01/10, 2:50 pm


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