Death Care Compliance Law

Death Care Compliance Law

Preneed: A Pandora's Box of Problems

William Stalter is the founder of Stalter Legal Services and the Preneed Resource Company. Bill focuses his law practice on preneed and death care compliance, serving banks, funeral homes, crematories, and cemeteries. He has written multiple published articles

Category Archives: Preneed Development

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Missouri Preneed Fees: Making Guaranteed Contracts Affordable to the Funeral Home

By Bill Stalter on Posted in Price Protection, Uncategorized
It only took 15 months, but the Missouri State Board finally approved a rule to clarify what fees a preneed seller may charge when offering a guaranteed price contract to consumers.   Low investment returns from insurance and trusts forced many funeral homes to stop offering guaranteed price contracts to consumers.  Funeral homes’ cost increases were… Continue Reading

A Treasury Market Out of Whack: Preneed Insurers and Preneed Sellers

By Bill Stalter on Posted in Insurance Funded, Investments, Preneed, Preneed Development, Preneed Development, Preneed Shortfalls, Price Protection, Price Protection, Uncategorized
In our last post, we used Allan Sloan’s article on the Treasury bond market to highlight the investment exposures to death care trusts.  Today we will look at how the Treasury market is also impacting funeral homes that rely upon insurance for preneed funding.  Mr. Sloan’s article alluded to insurance companies being required by statute… Continue Reading

Preneed Turf War: Pennsylvania Funeral Directors and StoneMor

By Bill Stalter on Posted in Cemeteries, Cemetery Development, Legislation, Preneed, Preneed Development, Trust Funded
In an unusual move for a death care regulator, the Federal Trade Commission weighed in on the preneed turf war that has erupted between Pennsylvania funeral directors and StoneMor Partners.   At the request of the chairman for a Pennsylvania legislative committee, the FTC responded with a detailed letter warning against various bill proposals aimed at… Continue Reading

The Factors Contributing to Preneed Shortfalls: Investment Return and Operator’s Performance Costs

By Bill Stalter on Posted in Guaranteed, Insurance Funded, Non-guaranteed, Preneed, Preneed Development, Preplanning, Price Protection, Price Protection, Total Return Trust, Trust Funded, Uncategorized
When the Federal Reserve recently announced the end of the quantitative easing program, it did so with a hint that any increase in interest rates could be a considerable time off.  Several global factors may now cause interest rates to remain at unprecedented lows for longer than what the Fed had suggested last December.  As… Continue Reading

Another factor in the cremation trend: preneed insurance premiums

By Bill Stalter on Posted in Cremation, Guaranteed, Insurance Funded, Preneed, Preplanning, Price Protection, Price Protection
Our preneed provides peace of mind by freeing your family from the burdens of rising funeral costs and from making difficult decisions during their time of grief. Since the inception of the transaction sixty years ago, that statement has defined preneed marketing. Even the AARP recently embrace the peace of mind concept. The inflationary protection… Continue Reading