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
Care Funds
Brainerd’s Evergreen Cemetery Association: a solution may already exist
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…
Missouri Endowed Care Audits: Veering off the Legislature’s Intent
In our third post on Missouri’s endowed care cemetery audits we look at the request for the cemetery’s legal documents. The current audit notice requests copies of the cemetery’s trust agreement, rules and regulations, contract forms, deed forms, brochures and any other materials making an endowed care representation. In essence, the audit is going to…
Missouri Care Fund Audits: Tracking IR Sales and Trust Deposits
Missouri is catching up on its auditing of licensed endowed care funds. Within the past couple of months, most of our Missouri endowed cemeteries received the attached notice requesting reports and documents for audit. In prior posts, we have suggested that the Office of Endowed Care Cemeteries (OECC) audit process should be revised. Our next…
Cemetery Care Master Trusts: A Need for Economies of Scale
A Google search of “state funeral association master trust” will return hyperlinks to dozens of state funeral director associations. In the 1970’s, funeral associations began establishing master preneed trusts as an alternative to passbook savings accounts. As preneed gained acceptance with funeral directors, the associations saw the opportunity to provide administration and create a revenue…
An Update to the Cemetery Unitrust Movement: a few more states but lagging interest on the part of cemeteries
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…
Missouri Exempt Cemeteries: The Exception that is the Rule
When Missouri’s endowed care law was passed in 1994, all cemeteries were required to register with the Office of Endowed Care Cemeteries. Cemeteries can seek licensing as either an endowed care cemetery or a non-endowed cemetery, or the cemetery could claim it was exempt from Chapter 214 pursuant to the definition of “Cemetery” pursuant to…
Grantor Care Funds: Too Small to Pay for Flowers
It would be my assumption that the majority of the country’s cemeteries do not maintain a trust for the maintenance and care of its graves. While this may differ from state to state, most states’ perpetual care statutes exempt small family cemeteries, not for profit cemeteries, municipal cemeteries, county cemeteries and church cemeteries from their…
Concerns over “abandoned” cemeteries: When to act and who will assume control
These are tough times for cemeteries. Too many planned on a steady revenues from grave sales, and have not trusted enough funds for future maintenance expenses. Grave sale revenues have been dramatically cut by the public’s acceptance of cremation. Subsequent to the Great Recession of 2008, many of our funeral home clients reported a significant…
Cemetery Care Funds: Virginia and Georgia Join the Unitrust Movement
Effective July 1st, the cemetery laws of Virginia and Georgia are each amended to authorize fixed distributions from cemetery perpetual care trusts. They join Florida, Tennessee, Michigan, Missouri and Iowa in embracing some form of the unitrust option for cemetery care fund distributions. The unitrust option is a dramatic departure from the net…