The anxiety over Missouri’s new preneed law will temporarily peak this Friday with the passing of the due dates for annual reports and license applications. To give the industry a breather, and to assess SB1’s flaws, the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors reached an informal agreement on October 20th to table any
Funeral
Third time’s the Charm: Preneed Legislation
By Bill Stalter on
The old axiom was that it would take three consecutive legislative sessions to get a preneed bill passed. If Missouri and Illinois are indicators of the current preneed reform movement, the charm may be based not on attempts but actual bills passed by the legislature.
The Illinois Comptroller’s proposal for preneed reform, SB1682, is progressing…
Confusion over the California Master Trust
By Bill Stalter on
The September edition of the Mortuary Management ran an excerpt from a Funeral Monitor article about the California Master Trust suffering a deficit.
If the story is accurate about the master trust’s shortage, the author’s speculation about the reasons for the deficit omits a possible factor that has existed for years: the 4% administration fee.
As explained…
The First Week Under SB1
By Bill Stalter on
The first week under the new preneed law was a confusing one for the Missouri funeral industry. SB1 has many drafting conflicts and ambiguities, and that has give rise to different interpretations from the Attorney General’s Office, the State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors, and the death care industry.
The State Board and the…
The Informant: Randall Sutton
By Bill Stalter on
News of Randy Sutton’s arrest was greeted by honking hearses in Missouri, Texas, Illinois, and a dozen or so other states. But, the question funeral directors are asking: What about the Cassity family?
Federal investigators need for someone to rollover and give up the Cassity crew, and apparently, Mr. Sutton is their choice.
Matt Damon’s…
Cemeteries, funeral homes, and conflicts
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Cemeteries, Funeral
John Penton has a valid point.
Funeral homes and cemeteries compete for the vault sale. And, the price of a grave space will impact what a family will pay for a traditional funeral and burial. So, when a cemetery faces economic challenges that impact the maintenance of graves, should competing funeral directors be allowed to…
Sen. Burris’ issues and keeping the facts straight
By Bill Stalter on
With a recent editorial opinion, the State Journal-Register seeks to keep U.S. Senator Roland Burris accountable for his role in the IFDA master trust problems by asking the following questions:
· As comptroller, why did he think it was a good idea to allow the IFDA control of the fund?
· How did he…
Déjà vu: Missouri’s Latest Reform Effort
By Bill Stalter on
The Missouri Senate Committee assigned the task of preneed funeral reform posted a substitute bill to the Legislature’s website on February 6th: SCS SB1. For those who participated in the Chapter 436 Working Group meetings last summer, this bill may seem vaguely familiar. During those meetings, the Division of Professional Registration circulated a 41-page…
Home Funerals, Funeral Homes and Professional Liability
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Consumer Advocates, Funeral
A Los Angeles Times story about Jerrigrace Lyons, California’s ‘death midwife’, generated ten days of entertaining barbs and counter-barbs on an SCI chat board. The article describes how Ms. Lyons assists families that choose home funerals in lieu of a funeral home.
One of the posts challenges a fellow funeral director for the…
Going cold turkey on the guaranteed preneed contract
By Bill Stalter on
It has to be bad when your main source tells you its time for the Methadone clinic. With the worst financial crisis in our lifetime, and spiraling costs, what funeral director isn’t already battling a case of the sweats and shakes when reviewing his/her preneed program? And now you’re being told to go cold turkey on …