Terms Used In Virginia Code > Title 8.01 > Chapter 3 > Article 17 - Declaratory Judgments.

• At-need: means at the time of death or while death is imminent. See Virginia Code 54.1-2800
• Board: means the Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers. See Virginia Code 54.1-2800
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Cremate: means to reduce a dead human body to ashes and bone fragments by the action of fire. See Virginia Code 54.1-2800
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Embalmer: means any person engaged in the practice of embalming. See Virginia Code 54.1-2800
• Embalming: means the process of chemically treating the dead human body by arterial injection and cavity treatment or, when necessary, hypodermic tissue injection to reduce the presence and growth of microorganisms to temporarily retard organic decomposition. See Virginia Code 54.1-2800
• Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Funeral directing: means the for-profit profession of directing or supervising funerals, preparing human dead for burial by means other than embalming, or making arrangements for funeral services or the financing of funeral services. See Virginia Code 54.1-2800
• Funeral director: means any person engaged in the practice of funeral directing. See Virginia Code 54.1-2800
• Funeral service establishment: means any main establishment, branch, or chapel that is permanently affixed to the real estate and for which a certificate of occupancy has been issued by the local building official where any part of the profession of funeral directing, the practice of funeral services, or the act of embalming is performed. See Virginia Code 54.1-2800
• Funeral service licensee: means a person who is licensed in the practice of funeral services. See Virginia Code 54.1-2800
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• In-person communication: means face-to-face communication and telephonic communication. See Virginia Code 54.1-2800
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Interrogatories: Written questions asked by one party of an opposing party, who must answer them in writing under oath; a discovery device in a lawsuit.
• Next of kin: means any of the following persons, regardless of the relationship to the decedent: any person designated to make arrangements for the disposition of the decedent's remains upon his death pursuant to § Virginia Code 54.1-2800
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Person: shall include individuals, a trust, an estate, a partnership, an association, an order, a corporation, or any other legal or commercial entity;

  6. See Virginia Code 8.01-2

• Practice of funeral services: means engaging in the care and disposition of the human dead, the preparation of the human dead for the funeral service, burial or cremation, the making of arrangements for the funeral service or for the financing of the funeral service and the selling or making of financial arrangements for the sale of funeral supplies to the public. See Virginia Code 54.1-2800
• Preneed: means at any time other than at-need. See Virginia Code 54.1-2800
• Preneed funeral planning: means the making of arrangements prior to death for (i) the providing of funeral services or (ii) the sale of funeral supplies. See Virginia Code 54.1-2800
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Solicitation: means initiating contact with consumers with the intent of influencing their selection of a funeral plan or funeral service provider. See Virginia Code 54.1-2800
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.