With legislation introduced this past January, Illinois could join those states which expressly authorize cemetery fiduciaries to take the unitrust election and make fixed distributions to cemeteries.  Senate Bill No. 3207 proposes to amend Illinois’ Cemetery Care Act to add provisions which would define ‘total return distribution’ and thereby allow care fund trusts to make

In our prior post, we recommended that the Evergreen Cemetery Association explore the Minnesota trust code provisions regarding the trustee’s power to adjust (501C.1112).  This is something other “excluded” cemeteries should also consider.  By excluded, we mean cemeteries owned by associations, churches, cities or counties that are typically excluded from regulation of

The Funeral Director Daily recently wrote about the Evergreen Cemetery Association in Brainerd, Minnesota.  Like so many cemeteries, Evergreen is running a deficit and its board is worried about the future.  The Funeral Director Daily suggests the situation cries out for a relaxation of government restrictions over the Association’s care fund.  If the cemetery could

It has been three years since we last posted about those states that have passed laws allowing cemetery trusts to take a unitrust election.  Since then, Arizona, California and Indiana have joined the list.  The movement towards fixed care fund distributions has not caught on as quickly as some thought when the concept was introduced

In a move to remain autonomous from the funeral industry and its oversight, the Missouri cemetery industry met with its regulator during the summer of 2008 to discuss reform legislation. Disagreements precluded effective legislation from being passed in 2009, but extensive changes was passed in 2010, and became effective on August 28, 2010. Now, the Missouri