During the long and tedious Chapter 436 hearings, some Missouri funeral directors joined consumer advocates in using the NPS failure as reason for recommending that legislators impose 100% trusting on the preneed transaction. Those funeral directors generally advocated the use of insurance or joint accounts as safer methods of preneed funding. During regulatory meetings, comments were also made about how
September 2008
Cemetery Associations: Where’s the manual?
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Cemeteries
Who do you turn to when grass isn’t being cut, or the grave marker falls over? Or, who can approve the transfer of the ownership of my mother’s grave space?
Ultimately, the answer depends on who owns the cemetery. But, determining who owns the cemetery can often prove confusing to both the public and the…
NPS’ Missouri Installment Contracts
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in NPS/Lincoln, Preneed
Dear Donna,
Once the liquidation plan is finalized, and the procedures for paying claims are implemented, could we please revisit the issue of the Missouri installment contracts?
Yes, you have been patient and polite regarding my inquiries. But, until this past Monday, I did not know how significant an issue these contracts were. If…
Chapter 436 Recommendations: First the trust, then…
By Bill Stalter on
Why did you agree to that?
That’s the question I have been getting to the Chapter 436 Working Group recommendations regarding i) the deposit of all purchaser payments to trust, and ii) some form of periodic statement to the consumer. One answer would be that we see too many news reports like this…
The two faces of NPS: insurance vs. trust
By Bill Stalter on
Concurrent with the hearing held on her Liquidation Plan, the Special Deputy Receiver posted a financial report to the Lincoln Memorial Life/NPS website. As with most financial statements, explanatory notes at the end of the report provide some insights to the failed NPS empire. While prior documents have disclosed that the companies have a deficient of…
Missouri Preneed Reform: work in progress
By Bill Stalter on
While the completion of the document may have felt like a birthing process to the staff of Missouri’s Division of Professional Registration, the Chapter 436 Working Group Recommendations more accurately reflects an industry position paper that has yet to be completed. Faced with a deadline imposed by the Missouri legislature, the Division ‘finalized’ the Recommendations in an…
The Archdiocese of Louisville Lawsuit: attorney error
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Churches/Ritual, Funeral
Trust a lawyer to add to the tension between clergy and the funeral director.
A Kentucky priest felt the need to re-establish the ground rules for funerals conducted in his parish, and a local funeral director took offense. Claiming the rules were "an intentional and wrongful interference" with his business, the funeral director brought suit against the Archdiocese of Louisville.
The lawsuit has the…