Preneed: A Pandora's Box of Problems
The Missouri Preneed Trust: What were you thinking?
Investment markets are down, and preneed trusts are hurting. But one Missouri preneed trust is probably hurting more than others. When the Missouri Funeral Directors and Embalmers Association cheerfully announced the acquisition of the Missouri Preneed Trust program by its own MFT, we were shocked. The Missouri…
Late in 2021, PNC Bank threw in the towel. After years of litigation and two appeals, PNC Bank agreed to a settlement with the NPS special deputy receiver. Last month, our Illinois clients began receiving POC notices from the SDR that a portion of their claims for inflation would be honored. Payment of funeral home…
We are continuing with our posts to correct the misstatements made by the MFDEA in its May 24th video on Missouri law and preneed portability. At minute 28:50 of the video, the association’s general counsel states that with regard to the transfer of preneed contracts, a successor seller must execute a State Board affidavit…
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…
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. …
While the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors’ Complaint against the Missouri Funeral Trust alleges the program has failed to maintain adequate records, documents and oversight, funeral directors want to know whether the trust is adequately funded. Although the State Board raised issues with some contracts reported with zero deposit balances, the Complaint…
After five months of trading Complaints and Answers, the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors and the Missouri Funeral Trust have been assigned an October hearing date before the Administrative Hearing Commission. The dispute between the State Board and the MFDEA’s master trust program has been waging for years over issues such as…
The Missouri Funeral Trust now faces the predicament we predicted a few months ago (The MFT’s Catch 22). The Court recently granted the State’s motion to dismiss, and dropped the State Board from the lawsuit. The main motivation for the lawsuit was probably to gain leverage in bringing a long and frustrating…
There seems to be some confusion in Missouri over the permissible contractual relationships among the preneed seller, the preneed trustee and the independent investment advisor. Prior to the collapse of NPS, and the subsequent amendment of Missouri’s preneed law, Chapter 436 allowed the preneed seller to incorporate provisions in its preneed trust agreement to instruct…
The MFT did not catch a break with the court assigned to its lawsuit against the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors and Catholic Fraternal Life. The hearing scheduled for September 28th was continued for another four weeks, and in the meantime, the parties continue to file evidentiary discovery requests. The Association’s…