After five months of trading Complaints and Answers, the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors and the Missouri Funeral Trust have been assigned an October hearing date before the Administrative Hearing Commission.   The dispute between the State Board and the MFDEA’s master trust program has been waging for years over issues such as the Board jurisdiction, and whether the Board possesses the requisite authorities to inspect records and require the creation of new types of preneed records.   This saga had prompted the Board staff to make several recordkeeping rule proposals, each of which stalled before the State Board.   Even though the Board could not agree on recordkeeping proposal made in September 2016, the staff was authorized to proceed with a disciplinary complaint against the MFT in November.

In the weeks to come, we will discuss how the claims made against the MFT could impact funeral homes that act as their own preneed seller.   Click the following hyperlinks to down load the State Board’s First Amended Complaint or the MFT’s Answer and Affirmative Defenses.