It was not a pretty sight when a man's decomposed body was found in a sealed casket at an upstate New York funeral home that was shut down approximately two months ago. What a shocking revelation that must have been for the auctioneer who found the body.

The same auctioneer found the cremated remains of twelve other people while cataloging items to be sold at the Seager-Jones Funeral Home in Bath, Steuben County. The reason the dead bodies were in the home for so long is because Seager would not allow a search of the funeral parlor. He knew what he was going wrong. And the authorities, without the proper warrants, could not do anything about it.

It's highly disconcerting to know that funeral homes, who deal with extremely distraught family members of the deceased can take such advantage of these families who have trusted a funeral parlor to dispose of their loved ones respectfully.

When shopping for funeral homes, it is important to check out the credentialing of the homes you are considering using. The two funeral homes mentioned above, were closed down in May because they were found to not be registered with the state. During times of high stress and grieving, families should be able to count on the experts to help them through.

"Seager, 71, was charged last month with scheme to defraud and violating the law concerning timely burial of cadavers. He was accused of transferring more than $175,000 from prepaid accounts into a personal savings account," according to authorities.

Again, be careful about whom you choose to care for your loved one once they are deceased. This should be a time for you to grieve properly and not to have to worry about what will happen to the body of the person to whom you are saying good-bye.

Written by Dr. KC Kelly