Compliance & Transparency | Bespoke Undertakings

Scope of Services

What We Are

Bespoke Undertakings is America's first dedicated post-cremation placement service, exclusively serving families who already have cremated remains at home.

We support families who already have cremated remains in their possession by helping them plan, decide, and follow through on permanent placement and related memorial details:

Options exploration (cemetery inurnment, columbarium, scattering, home memorials, cremation jewelry)
Placement coordination with cemeteries, columbariums, and scattering services
Memorialization planning and ceremony support
Veterans benefits guidance and VA national cemetery coordination (Earned Honor brand)
Documentation to ensure a permanent record exists

We begin after the family has already received the cremated remains from a licensed provider. We do not arrange or sell cremation or funeral disposition services.

What We Are Not

We are not a funeral home, not a crematory, and not a licensed funeral establishment.

We do not take first call or accept custody of a decedent
We do not perform cremation, embalming, or body preparation
We do not transport human remains
We do not sell caskets or cremation containers
We do not act as the contracting funeral establishment for disposition of a decedent

How We Work With Licensed Providers

Some parts of deathcare are regulated and must be performed by licensed entities or credentialed personnel. When a task requires a licensed funeral establishment, crematory, or cemetery operator, the family contracts directly with that provider. We can attend calls, help interpret options, and support the family's decisions, but we do not replace the licensed provider's role.

FTC Funeral Rule and Consumer Protections

The FTC Funeral Rule applies to "funeral providers," which the FTC defines as businesses that sell or offer to sell both funeral goods and funeral services (see 16 CFR 453.1). Bespoke Undertakings is not a funeral home or crematory. Regardless of whether the Rule applies to any specific transaction, we voluntarily follow its consumer-protection principles: itemized pricing, clear disclosures, no pressure selling, and consumer choice.

Texas Regulatory References

Key Texas statutes and resources families may find useful include:

Founder's Credentials

Joseph Demerly Bell, founder of Bespoke Undertakings, is a third-generation funeral professional with verifiable credentials across multiple states. Verify Texas license online.

Professional Licenses

State	License Type	Number
Texas	Funeral Director & Embalmer	#120653
South Carolina	Funeral Director	#4177
South Carolina	Embalmer	#4665
South Carolina	Pre-Need Insurance Producer	#19444270
Washington	Funeral Director	#25021913
Washington	Embalmer	#25021952
Montana	Mortician	FNR-MTN-LIC-8211

Certifications & Education

Credential	Issuing Organization
Certified Funeral Service Practitioner (CFSP) #20127009	Academy of Professional Funeral Service Practitioners
Master of Business Administration	University of South Carolina Aiken
Bachelor of Science in Funeral Service	Mid-America College of Funeral Service
Bachelor of Science in Individualized Studies	State University of New York College at Buffalo

Citations & Sources

The following citations support claims made on our website and marketing materials. All sources are publicly verifiable.

[1] U.S. Cremation Rate and Projection

63.4% cremation rate in 2025, projected to reach 82.3% by 2045

Source: NFDA 2025 Cremation & Burial Report

[2] Cremated Remains Disposition

Among families who have had a loved one cremated: 37.8% buried/interred remains at a cemetery, 37.1% kept remains in an urn at home, 33.5% scattered remains in a sentimental place, 8.5% were undecided about final placement

Source: NFDA 2025 Consumer Awareness and Preferences Survey, p. 10

[3] Importance of Memorialization

94.7% of respondents said it is very important, important, or somewhat important to have a funeral or memorial service to commemorate the life of a loved one

Source: NFDA 2025 Consumer Awareness and Preferences Survey, p. 2

[4] FTC Funeral Rule (Definitions and Consumer Protections)

Definition of "funeral provider" and "funeral services" and FTC compliance guidance describing required disclosures and prohibited misrepresentations for covered providers

Source: 16 CFR 453.1 (Definitions) and FTC Complying with the Funeral Rule

[5] Texas Regulator and License Verification

Texas Funeral Service Commission provides consumer information and public license verification

Source: TFSC License Search & Verification

[6] "America's First" Claim

America's first dedicated post-cremation placement service, exclusively serving families who already have cremated remains at home

Basis: Comprehensive market research conducted January 2026, including 80+ search results across 50+ unique U.S. websites. No pre-2026 U.S. entity has been identified offering a service matching this model.

Identified competitors fall into distinct categories (cremation execution, ash processing, funeral home add-ons, product sales, educational content) that do not replicate this exclusive B2C family service model. Per NFDA 2025 Consumer Awareness Survey (p. 10), 37.1% of those who prefer cremation say they would keep remains at home—a population currently unserved by any dedicated placement service.

Qualifying Criteria (a service must meet ALL four to be equivalent):

1. Post-cremation entry point: Primary service begins after the family already has cremated remains in their possession (not pre-need planning, not at-need funeral arrangements)

2. Placement mission: Primary mission is permanent placement and memorialization completion (not cremation execution, not funeral arrangements, not product sales as the core business)

3. Consumer-facing: Direct-to-family, case-based planning and coordination that works across vendors chosen by the family (not B2B consulting, not a marketplace)

4. Independent: Independent of cremation providers and cemetery-owned inventory

Independence means:

• No ownership stake in cemeteries, columbariums, or crematories
• Cemetery coordination fees are flat-rate (not percentage-based or per-referral bounties)
• Affiliate relationships with specialty providers are disclosed in service agreements
• Staff are salaried employees, not commission-based

Fails definition if the entity:

• Performs cremations or handles bodies
• Sells cemetery plots/niches directly as a vendor
• Sells memorial products as the primary business
• Primarily provides pre-death or at-need arrangement planning
• Offers B2B consulting only (not consumer-facing)

Limitations: This research covers publicly indexed U.S. web presence. It does not cover private/non-indexed businesses, defunct pre-2015 entities, international precedents, or proprietary business databases. Full market verification report available upon request.

Post-Cremation Decision-Making Research

We are conducting a short, anonymous research study to better understand how families make decisions after cremation.

This study is not a service offer. Responses are anonymous and will be used only in aggregate.

View the research survey