A festering dispute between Missouri’s State Funeral Board and funeral directors association came to a head in a public conference call today.    The State Board scheduled the meeting in response to  its parent agency (the Division of Professional Registration) blocking the Board’s hiring of an investigator.  The Board held the meeting to discuss what actions

Last week we posted the Federal Trade Commission’s Active Supervision Guidelines for industry boards. The Guidelines set some substantial standards for the independent state agency or attorney general that provides supervision over an industry board. When that agency or attorney fails to satisfy the supervision requirements, the industry members are exposed to personal liability when

President Obama used his State of the Union address to unveil a new type of retirement account dubbed “MyRA”.  Recognizing that Americans are woefully unprepared for their retirement years, the President believes the MyRA offers individuals a safe option to induce them to begin saving for those golden years.  A CNBC report provides an explanation

Among the rule proposals suggested by the Division of Professional Registration to the State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors was the following definition of “External Investment Advisor”:

any licensed, qualified investment advisor approved and authorized by the trustee of the preneed trust and who holds no personal interest in any assets of the preneed

Many funeral homes have an informal practice of accepting small insurance policies from individuals who want to know their funeral expense will be taken care of at the time of death. Often, the individual may not be comfortable discussing their funeral preferences with family, and trust the funeral director to apply the insurance proceeds appropriately.