George R. Kelder Jr., CFSP

There are a few things in life that are best not left until the last minute. Estate planning comes to mind. So does getting your continuing education credits in before the February 28, 2027 deadline. And for those of us who have ever waited until December 20 to start Christmas shopping, we know exactly how well procrastination works.

Planning for the future of a complex organization, however, is not something you want to put off until the last minute.

Under the guidance of your association Executive Committee, plans have been underway for many months regarding my retirement as executive director of the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association.

The date is still more than a year away. So I am not packing boxes, cleaning out my desk or purchasing a cottage in Ireland just yet. There is plenty of work to do, and I intend to keep doing it.

But after joining the NJSFDA in 1989, I have come to appreciate that one of the most important responsibilities of leadership is making certain an organization is prepared for what comes next. That responsibility does not begin when someone announces a departure. It begins long before that, with planning, mentoring, sharing knowledge and giving capable people the opportunity to grow. That is exactly what we have been doing.

The NJSFDA was founded in 1902. Think about that for a moment. This organization has served New Jersey's funeral service professionals through generations of change, economic challenges, legislative battles, technological advances and more than a few debates about how things ought to be done.

It has survived because its purpose has always been bigger than any one individual. The people occupying the offices, serving on committees, leading the boards and working behind the scenes have changed over the years. The responsibility to represent and serve our members has not.

That is why I want you to understand something important: Preparing for a leadership transition is a sign that we are taking our responsibilities seriously.

We have talented people on our staff who understand this organization, know our membership and are being given opportunities to develop the skills and experience necessary for the next chapter. Training and preparation are already part of the process. There is institutional knowledge to share, relationships to strengthen and plenty of lessons that only experience can teach.

No one should expect an organization to stand still simply because a familiar face has been there for a long time. Nor should anyone assume that a change in leadership means starting over. The objective is to build on what works, recognize what needs improvement and make certain that the people who follow us are prepared to meet the challenges ahead.

Over the coming months, I intend to write more about our people, our history and the work required to keep this association strong. Not every member sees what happens behind the scenes, and that is understandable. Most of you have businesses to run, families to care for and communities depending on you. You expect your association to be there when you need it.

That expectation will not change.

I have always believed that our members deserve honesty, preparation and a clear understanding of where their association is headed. You should not have to wonder whether the organization will be ready for the future. We have a responsibility to make sure it is.

There is work to do between now and then, and we intend to do it. The best way to honor the organization that has been such a significant part of my professional life is to help ensure that it remains strong long after I have turned over the keys.

Besides, if nearly 125 years of NJSFDA history have taught us anything, it is that this association has a way of carrying on.

And that is precisely how it should be.

As we approach the upcoming workers’ compensation renewal season, funeral home owners should begin preparing for the latest figures and rate information from the New Jersey Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau.

NJ CRIB establishes workers’ compensation rating information for New Jersey, including classification rates and other rating factors that affect insurance premiums. Its latest filing, submitted in September 2026, addresses a proposed rate revision effective January 1, 2027. Final approved rates and their impact on individual policies will depend on the applicable rating information and underwriting factors.

For funeral homes, workers’ compensation premiums are influenced by several factors, including employee classifications, payroll, claims history and experience modification factors where applicable. Even when an overall rate adjustment is announced, individual businesses may experience different results.

Now Is the Time to Review Your Policy

Before your next renewal, we encourage funeral home owners and administrators to review employee classifications, confirm payroll estimates and ensure that changes in staffing or job responsibilities are properly reported. Accurate information helps avoid unnecessary premium adjustments and potential surprises during the final audit.

It is also an appropriate time to review workplace safety procedures. Preventing lifting injuries, maintaining safe working conditions and providing employees with appropriate training can help reduce workplace accidents and support a stronger claims history over time.

At Thanexus Financial Services, we understand the unique operational demands of funeral service. Our goal is to help our members understand their coverage, prepare for renewal, and identify opportunities to improve their insurance program.

As the NJ CRIB figures are finalized and additional information becomes available, we will continue to monitor developments and share updates relevant to New Jersey funeral homes.

For questions regarding your workers’ compensation policy or upcoming renewal, please contact Thanexus Financial Services.

Do you have questions about your premium costs? Please contact one of our Thanexus Financial Services, LLC insurance agents at 888.483.5138 for more information or a personalized quote for your individual insurance needs. All funeral directors have access to insurance coverage. This is not a benefit limited to members of Thanexus, Inc.

Thanexus Financial Services, LLC is staffed by salaried, non-commissioned producers with no personal financial interest in your decisions regarding coverage. By using salary-based compensation, our agency force focuses on service rather than volume. Our staff members are licensed in New Jersey, as well as Connecticut, Florida, New York and Pennsylvania.

Thanexus, Inc. is a funeral service cooperative and economic development initiative of New Jersey Funeral Directors Services, Inc. For more information about joining Thanexus as a shareholder, contact our Agency Manager, Jonathan C. Krowicki, at 732.282.5117.

New Jersey consumers who are interested in alkaline hydrolysis as a form of disposition can now access a regional facility in Vermont, which has opened up the process to 11 states in the Northeast.

Leaf & Water, a Brooklyn, NY, based company, built a facility in Bennington, VT, and is accepting remains from outside the state, hoping that consumers in states where the process is not yet legal will be willing to have remains shipped there.

Alkaline hydrolysis, also known as aquamation or water cremation, is touted as a more environmentally friendly method of disposition, avoiding the energy consumption associated with traditional cremation.

“The Northeast was the last region of the country where access to water cremation required extensive prior knowledge and complex coordination because of the limited number of states where the practice is legal,” Candis Best, Founder and CEO of Leaf & Water, said in a press release.

New Jersey has no law on the books allowing water cremation in the state. Vermont legalized the process in 2014, but the first facility to provide the service was not opened until 2025.

Alkaline hydrolysis causes the rapid decomposition of human remains by placing a body into a pressurized chamber and flooding it with a heated alkaline solution. Leftover liquid is then drained, and any remaining bone is pulverized.

Leaf & Water argues that the regional facility bypasses the need for laws allowing water cremation because “legalization and access are not the same.”

“A disposition method can be legally recognized in a state while remaining difficult to obtain because no nearby provider offers it,” the company said in its press release. “However, families in states where the process is not performed or legally available can still choose water cremation by arranging lawful transportation to a provider in another state, if necessary. That's where Leaf & Water comes in.”

Families can make arrangements by either working with a local funeral director who then contacts Leaf & Water or by getting in touch with the company directly, which then can arrange for transfer through a local funeral home.

“Our goal is to move past the question of whether water cremation is available in a family’s state and ensure that it is easily accessible to that family,” Best said.

Funeral directors should be prepared in case they are approached by a family asking about water cremation. More information can be found on Leaf & Water’s website.

The New Jersey Sharing Network is facing a new challenge to its operations and procedures, adding to the organization’s investigative and legal troubles.

A family has filed a lawsuit, accusing the network of putting intense pressure on them to donate the tissues and organs of a 41-year-old man who died in June 2026, according to a CBS News article. A network representative placed the call to the family around midnight, only several hours after his death, the family told CBS.

Jessica Corsini, the decedent’s brother, told CBS that the network never informed them that the procurement process would render her brother’s body nearly unrecognizable.

"I was very angry. I was very, very angry," Corsini said in an interview.

Corsini’s attorney, Bruce Nagel told CBS that, based on medical records his firm reviewed, the body parts of Rosario Corsini “ended up both in cosmetic use and sale on the international market."

CBS said a staffer at the network’s office in New Providence said the organization was looking into the allegations.

The lawsuit is the latest in a series of troubles that have plagued the network, a federally designated nonprofit dedicated to organ and tissue donation. In 2025, the federal House Ways and Means Committee sent a letter to the network outlining allegations of inappropriate high-pressure interactions with families and healthcare providers, fraudulent billing of Medicare, fraudulent research and a toxic organizational culture.

A recent NJ.com story featured another family that accused the network of using pressure tactics and ignoring a patient’s religious beliefs and practices.

Nationwide, issues with organ procurement organizations have led to investigations, a federal crackdown and efforts to improve oversight. As more allegations have surfaced, the number of donations throughout the country have shrunk.

In New Jersey, a new legislative effort to improve the process through which prospective donors agree to body donation and organ and tissue procurement has just begun. The bill would modify the state’s organ procurement procedures by requiring “any state agency, registry, organization or person authorized to accept or record an anatomical gift” to “provide the donor with a written disclosure” developed by the state Department of Health.

The New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association helped to strengthen the bill, and the measure has the association’s support.

Corsini said she was hoping to see legislation that made informed consent mandatory.

"Ask questions. When you go to the DMV or you get your renewal in the mail, all it says is, 'Do you want to be an organ/tissue donor?' And it shouldn't just be one blank statement question," Corsini told CBS.

Prospective organ and body donors in New Jersey would need to make an informed, affirmative choice about their proposed anatomical gift before that decision could be finalized, according to new state legislation supported by the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association.

The bill would modify the state’s organ procurement procedures by requiring “any state agency, registry, organization or person authorized to accept or record an anatomical gift” to “provide the donor with a written disclosure” developed by the state Department of Health.

Key Takeaways

• Proposed legislation would require New Jersey anatomical donors to make informed, affirmative choices about donation
• NJSFDA successfully advocated for clearer language and three consent options, including next-of-kin review and refusal
• The bill aims to restore trust in organ procurement amid controversies over consent, religious objections and donor protections

Versions of the bill were initially introduced in both the state Assembly and Senate in September 2026. The NJSFDA made a series of suggestions for tightening the bill’s language and making its intent clearer. All the association’s suggestions were accepted by bill sponsors. Legislative committee hearings have not yet been scheduled.

Among the changes suggested by the NJSFDA were striking of the word “irrevocable” and replacing it with “binding.” The measure should also be more inclusive when discussing donations, according to the NJSFDA. For example, “vital organs” does not cover the scope of donations, which can include tissues, bones, tendons and corneas, among other body parts.

The association also advocated for stronger informed consent by prospective donors, rather than simply checking a box on a form. The proposed legislation calls for three potential choices for donors:

• Binding consent, in which a decision cannot be altered by next of kin
• Consent that is subject to review by the next of kin, allowing the next of kin to alter or revoke the decision
• Refusal of donation, in which an individual expressly declines to make an anatomical gift

“Before a person makes an anatomical gift through any authorized donor registry, the [state Motor Vehicle Commission] or another authorized entity, the person must be given a standardized written disclosure explaining what the gift means and must affirmatively select the scope and legal effect of the gift,” the NJSDA wrote in a letter outlining its proposed changes to the bill.

Establishing and strengthening Informed consent for donations remains one of the most critical needs to restoring trust in the organ procurement process, which has been the subject of intense scrutiny over the past two years. Several high-profile cases in which families complained of pressure tactics from organ procurement organizations and of OPOs ignoring religious objections to organ donation.

New Jersey has not been exempt from those issues. The federal House Ways and Means Committee sent a letter to the New Jersey Sharing Network, a federally designated nonprofit dedicated to organ and tissue donation, in 2025 alleging that the network pushed for the harvesting of organs from a patient who showed signs of life.

In a more recent case, a family alleged that the network stopped them from removing a man from life support, saying it had ironclad permission from the patient to harvest his organs, according to an NJ.com report.

The network claimed they had permission because the patient had checked the organ donor box on his New Jersey driver’s license in 2021. The family countered that he had rescinded that permission in 2025 and his Muslim faith prevented the desecration of his body.

That case was part of the impetus for the informed consent legislation that is currently proposed.

In other cases, a Kentucky OPO was decertified by the federal Department of Health and Human Services for cases in which proposed donors had “neurological signs incompatible with organ donation,” donors where not yet dead with procurement began and poor communication.

The Kentucky investigation also led, in part, to a March 2026 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services memorandum clarifying and strengthening some rules concerning organ donations. 

The New Jersey legislation is a step in the right direction to restoring trust in vital organ procurement processes which have experienced a sharp dip in donations since concerns became public.

The bill would be an “important safeguard” for consumers by creating a system where their decision on donation is informed, documented and understood, the NJSFDA said.

A Pennsylvania county is creating a structure to house unclaimed cremated remains that are currently housed at the county coroner’s office.

The approximately 200-square-foot building, located at the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office, is the first of its kind in Pennsylvania and is designed as a resting place for the cremated remains that have been either abandoned or never claimed.

“As our coroner's office continues to evolve, our mission remains rooted in compassion, professionalism and dignity, including our responsibility to ensure that those entrusted to our care have a permanent and respectful place of rest,” Montgomery County Coroner Dr. Janine Darby said in a press release.

The building will be open to the public who wish to pay their respects. Those seeking to claim remains housed in the facility will still be able to do so. Currently, the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office has cremated remains of more than 200 decedents. Their names are listed on the county website.