Memorial Verification Policy

1. Purpose of This Policy

This Memorial Verification Policy explains how TributeHarbor may review, verify, approve, restrict or remove memorial requests and memorial pages.

The purpose of verification is to help:

• Protect grieving families
• Reduce false or fake memorials
• Prevent unauthorized use of photographs and personal information
• Reduce fraudulent fundraising or payment activity
• Confirm funeral information where reasonably possible
• Maintain trust in TributeHarbor memorials

2. Who May Request a Memorial

A memorial should normally be requested by one of the following:

• Spouse of the deceased
• Parent
• Son or daughter
• Sibling
• Other close family member
• Legal or authorized family representative
• Funeral home or funeral service provider
• Another person who can reasonably demonstrate family authorization

A friend or other third party may submit information, but TributeHarbor may require confirmation from the family or funeral service provider before publication.

3. Information We May Verify

Depending on the circumstances, TributeHarbor may verify:

• Name of the deceased
• Date of passing
• Funeral date and time
• Funeral venue
• Identity of the submitting person
• Relationship between the submitter and deceased
• Authority of the family representative
• Funeral home involvement
• Photograph authorization
• Beneficiary or family-support recipient information

4. How Verification May Be Completed

TributeHarbor may use one or more reasonable methods, including:

• Contacting the person who submitted the memorial
• Contacting the named family representative
• Contacting the funeral home or funeral director
• Confirming funeral-service information
• Reviewing supporting documents where necessary
• Requesting written family authorization
• Confirming ownership or permission to use photographs
• Using other reasonable verification methods

TributeHarbor may choose the level of verification based on the risk and nature of the memorial.

5. Verification Levels

Not every memorial requires exactly the same verification process. TributeHarbor may apply different levels of verification.

Where financial-support features are active, additional payment-recipient verification may be required.

6. Meaning of “Verified Memorial”

A memorial may display a “Verified Memorial” indicator after TributeHarbor has completed a reasonable verification process.

A verification badge means that TributeHarbor has received sufficient confirmation to reasonably believe that the memorial request is genuine and authorized.

7. Funeral Home Verification

TributeHarbor may work directly with participating funeral homes and funeral service providers.

Where a funeral provider confirms a memorial, TributeHarbor may display:

• Funeral provider name
• Verification status
• Provider branding where agreed
• Contact or service information where appropriate

Funeral-home verification confirms the memorial relationship. It does not mean TributeHarbor guarantees or endorses every service provided by the funeral business.

8. Family Authorization

The wishes of the authorized family representative are an important part of TributeHarbor's verification process.

TributeHarbor may require the submitter to confirm that:

• The family has authorized the memorial
• The photographs may be used
• The funeral information may be displayed publicly
• The life story or obituary may be published
• Condolence messages may be accepted

9. Family Disputes

TributeHarbor recognizes that disagreements may occur between relatives regarding memorial ownership or content.

If conflicting instructions are received, TributeHarbor may:

• Temporarily pause publication
• Restrict access to the memorial
• Temporarily remove disputed content
• Request further evidence of authority
• Request that family members resolve the dispute independently

TributeHarbor does not act as a court, mediator or legal authority for private family disputes.

10. False or Fraudulent Memorials

TributeHarbor has zero tolerance for deliberate false memorials created for fraud, harassment, impersonation or financial gain.

Examples include:

• Creating a memorial for a living person
• Falsely claiming that a person has died
• Impersonating a family member
• Creating a memorial without authorization for harassment
• Using stolen photographs
• Creating a fake funeral to collect money
• Providing a fraudulent payment recipient

11. Financial-Support Verification

Where TributeHarbor activates family-support or paid digital tribute features, additional safeguards may apply.

These may include:

• Verifying the intended family recipient
• Confirming recipient contact information
• Payment-provider identity verification
• Bank-account or payout-account verification through a payment provider
• Transaction monitoring
• Temporary payment holds where fraud is suspected

TributeHarbor may refuse or suspend financial-support functionality where recipient verification cannot be completed.

12. Corrections

Authorized family representatives may request reasonable corrections to memorial information.

Examples include corrections to:

• Name spelling
• Birth date
• Passing date
• Funeral date
• Funeral venue
• Photographs
• Life story or obituary

TributeHarbor may verify the requesting person's authority before making material changes.

13. Removal Requests

An authorized family representative may request that a memorial be removed or restricted.

TributeHarbor may request:

• Name and contact information of the requester
• Relationship to the deceased
• Reason for the removal request
• Supporting confirmation where appropriate

TributeHarbor will review requests reasonably and may temporarily restrict public access while verification takes place.

14. Verification Records

TributeHarbor may retain reasonable records showing how a memorial was verified, including:

• Contact history
• Verification status
• Family confirmation
• Funeral-home confirmation
• Authorization records
• Relevant dispute or fraud records

Such information will be handled in accordance with the TributeHarbor Privacy Policy.

15. Right to Decline a Memorial

TributeHarbor may decline to create or publish a memorial where there are reasonable concerns regarding:

• Authorization
• Identity
• Accuracy
• Fraud
• Family disputes
• Harassment
• Illegal content
• Payment fraud
• Platform security

TributeHarbor is not required to publish every submitted memorial.

16. Reporting a Memorial

If you believe a memorial is false, unauthorized, inaccurate or fraudulent, please contact TributeHarbor immediately.

Please provide:

• The memorial name or URL
• Your name
• Your relationship to the deceased, where relevant
• A description of the concern
• Any information that may help us review the matter

17. Changes to This Policy

TributeHarbor may update this Memorial Verification Policy as the platform expands, new payment features are introduced or verification methods improve.

The latest version will be published on this page.