With an action that caught some by surprise, the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors voted to suspend future preneed examinations and accept recommendations on a new process. We have made several posts on the faults of the Missouri examination process, and now commend the Board on taking a bold action. The Missouri
Compliance
A Call for Comments: Missouri’s Preneed Exam Handbook
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Exams/audits, Missouri - SB1
To begin reform of its preneed exam process, the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors is seeking input from the industry by this Friday, June 8th. Specifically, the State Board is requesting comments to the Exam Procedures Handbook prepared by its staff. We have made edits to that handbook, and will…
Missouri’s Adequate Preneed Records: Performance and Cancellation Records
By Bill Stalter on
When the State Board approved a new “adequate seller records” rule on April 25th, there wasn’t much discussion of the documents or reports to be maintained for performed and canceled preneed contracts. In a sense, the Board may not need to expand beyond the FTC’s statement of goods and services requirement. If a…
Missouri’s Adequate Preneed Records: Receipt and Transmittal Records
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Exams/audits, Missouri - SB1
The Missouri funeral industry has haggled with the State Board for two years over preneed record requirements. But on April 25th, the State Board scrapped the staff’s adequate record proposal, and instead, adopted a brief definition of ‘seller records’. The State Board’s approach will afford funeral homes more flexibility in documenting the receipt…
Missouri’s Funeral Board: Taking Back the Reins
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Exams/audits, Missouri - SB1
The April 25th meeting of the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors marked an important transition where industry members assumed control over the protection of consumers’ preneed funds. After the first round of financial examinations, the Board’s procedures for the second round were defined by the Board’s staff, and never submitted to…
Missouri Preneed Examinations: The Doctrine of Semi-Absurd Statutory Construction
By Bill Stalter on
Missouri funeral homes are frustrated with the State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors. The second round of preneed examinations has begun, and the Board’s staff is citing sellers for “new” contract form violations on “old” contracts. Examiners are reviewing all outstanding contracts, including those covered in the seller’s first examination, and now citing the…
The Missouri Funeral Board: Was There a 2014 Warning?
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Compliance, Missouri - SB1
Starting with its 2014 fiscal year, the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors has initiated 334 complaints against Missouri funeral homes. That is an average of 11 complaints per month. During the four years that preceding 2014, the State Board filed only 77 complaints against funeral homes, or an average of 1.5 complaints…
Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors: Ten Years after NPS
By Bill Stalter on
Ten years after the collapse of NPS, the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors has a confidence problem with licensees and legislators. Licensees see a regulator that is obsessed with DBAs, renewal reports, and exams that focus on contract provisions. Legislators see a regulator that will not fulfill the SB1 mandate to protect…
Missouri Funeral Board: Another Cure for Memory Loss
By Bill Stalter on
The latest rumor being spread about the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors is that the Board members met in a closed executive session without staff or attorneys to discuss the need for change in the legal representation of the Board. According to the rumor, the decision was made to send the Board…
The Missouri Board Chairman’s Rally Cry: Follow Me, Boys!
By Bill Stalter on
Pursuant to a notice that may, or may not, satisfy state law, the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors met in closed session this morning. At the State Board’s December meeting, Division counsel advised that 24 hours’ notice to the public was required to amend the Board’s agenda. Notice of this 9:00…