With its January 9th and 10th agenda, the Missouri State Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers exhibited yet another example of memory loss. Just weeks prior, the State Board voted to have one or more special meetings on seller records and the financial examination process. The motion approved by the Board was to have
Compliance
Missouri’s Record Keeping Meeting(s): A Date to Be Determined
In preceding posts, we have outlined recommendations to the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors regarding the preneed examination process and record keeping requirements. While our correspondence was not included on the Board’s December 13th agenda, the Board entertained a motion to amend the agenda to include our correspondence on the afternoon…
Missouri Seller Records: The Starting Point for an Audit Trail
The last time the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors took up the issue of preneed seller record keeping requirements, the staff proposal emphasized a contract ledger approach. The proposal sought to require a contract record that reflected the amount and date of each payment received and the corresponding dates and amounts…
Missouri’s Preneed Examination Process: A New Focus
For the first round of Missouri preneed examinations, the State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors had no choice but to jump into preneed sellers’ records and files. Hundreds of funeral home had been selling preneed for decades without supervision or record keeping requirements. So, the first exam objective was to look at everything and…
Missouri’s Funeral Board: Returning to the Scene of the Crime
Two years ago, the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors met in Independence to discuss their staff’s recommendations for seller record keeping requirements and the scope of preneed examinations. As the minutes somewhat reflect, the staff proposals were met with strong public opposition. (This blog documented those issues in prior posts that…
Missouri Preneed Examinations: An Important Pivot
In their last meeting, the members of the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors took a small, but important pivot in the preneed examination process. The State Board approved a recommendation made by the Financial Examination Committee that the Committee review each examination report and prepare the letter that accompanies the report to…
Stay Out of Jail Card: A Workout Plan to Keep Consumers Whole
A few weeks ago we reported on a legislative auditor’s recommendation to sunset the West Virginia Funeral Board because of its poor handling of consumer fraud complaints. Criticism of the Board focused primarily on the Harding Family Group matter, where Chad Harding had filed fraudulent insurance claims of almost $1 million. But, the auditor’s report…
Missouri Seller Records: 2017 Reboot?
This time last year, the hot topic before the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors was the staff’s proposed regulation to define what constitutes adequate records of a preneed seller. The proposal was revised more than once during 2016, but it was eventually tabled by the Board before any consensus could be reached. …
Missouri Preneed Annual Reports: Include Those Pre88 and Post88 Trusts
The Missouri Preneed Annual Report for 2017 is a little different from prior years. Schedule H (trust funded contracts) now seeks information about Pre88 trusts and Post88 trusts. Previously, Schedule H only referenced trusts that administered contracts sold subsequent to August 28, 2009. This had been a source of confusion for Missouri funeral homes. Accordingly,…
Missouri’s Executive Order No. 17-03: Going on Record
As we had suggested in a prior post, the Missouri State Board of Embalmers is acting to facilitate the directives of Executive Order No. 17-03 before the Board’s member vacancies are addressed. Public hearings have been scheduled for Augusts 14th and 15th at the Division of Professional Registration. The State Board will also accept comments…