The examination of a Missouri preneed seller begins with a request that certain documents be submitted to the State Board within 3 weeks. The purpose for the document production is to allow the examiner to perform a desk audit of the seller’s operable documents before an on-site visit is made. From those documents the examiner
August 2011
Missouri’s Examination: an idea of what to expect
By Bill Stalter on
The new era of preneed exams and audits got off to a slow start in Missouri, but now there are indications the process is picking up speed. The first notices of preneed financial examinations went out to sellers last January, and some are now going through on-site examinations. A second wave of examination notices has gone out, and the State Board has begun preparations for…
Informing the Consumer (and the Industry)
By Bill Stalter on
The need for better preneed oversight is obvious, but regulators often lack resources and expertise. The state of Connecticut made headlines recently for the decision to make budget cuts by de-regulating the death care industry*. Connecticut funeral directors challenged the decision, and the state issued a ‘clarification’ and withdrew the plan. (That’s correct, the…
But who is going to bury Momma?
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Cemeteries
When a cemetery operator and the regulator get crossways with each other, the threat to close the cemetery is often countered with the question of whether the regulator is going to step in and perform the burials. And when the regulator sticks to his/her guns, the results are often similar to that seen in Dunkirk…
Foreclosed: preneed funds
By Bill Stalter on
The economy has preneed regulators concerned about depository accounts used for preneed funding. A story reported in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution underscores the reason for this worry. When a funeral home fails, consumers have little chance of defending the depository account from creditors’ claims. Insurance and trusts offer the consumer better protection when the creditors come knocking.
Recession and Preneed
By Bill Stalter on
The “R” word is back again. We’re only three years removed from the housing bubble burst, but a sense of normalcy seemed to be returning to the death care industry. It wasn’t necessarily a return to the old ways, not with the increase in cremations and regulations. But, many operators were coming to grips with…