One of the weaknesses of Chapter 436, Missouri’s preneed law, is that it provides the State Board few enforcement powers beyond disciplining the preneed seller’s license. There are plenty of examples of preneed sellers obstructing the State Board’s efforts to obtain preneed records. At least one resorted to litigation as a delay tactic. The prospect
Missouri - SB1
Missouri SB32: The Preneed Audit Fund
With this post we will examine the new “Preneed Audit Fund” that SB32 proposes to create. Missouri funeral homes are already quite familiar with the state contract fee that was authorized in 2009 by Senate Bill No. 1. Per that law, the State Board began charging a fee on each preneed contract sold. That contract…
Missouri SB32: A New Audit Direction
With our next few posts we will dive deeper into SB32, the Missouri preneed legislation intended to provide the State Board a new audit direction and some new enforcement tools. Our first issue will be the change in course on preneed audits.
The bill would amend section 436.470 by adding the following new section:
3. …
Missouri Preneed Legislation: Time to Follow the Money
It would seem that the Missouri Legislature has grown impatient with the funeral industry’s efforts to regulate preneed. New legislation, Senate Bill No. 32, would establish a two tier approach to preneed oversight. This law would create a threshold whereby the State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors would be required to notify the…
Missouri Funeral Trust: Is there anything to be learned from Wisconsin?
When the MFT’s previous preneed exam was making news during the summer of 2015, reorganization plans were being filed for the Wisconsin Master Trust and the California Master Trust. As we reported in “Association Master Trusts: De Facto Trustees”, each reorganization plan sought to eliminate the association’s de facto trustee relationship that had…
Missouri Funeral Trust: Just how much is this costing consumers and funeral homes?
When the MFDEA Preneed Portability video disclosed that expense distributions were being paid from the Missouri Funeral Trust to the association, we thought it was appropriate to revisit prior blog posts about the failures of association master trusts in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and California. Those state association master trusts were forced to close, to restructure…
Missouri’s New State Funeral Board: Starting under a Whistleblower Cloud
Missouri’s new State Board will have its first meeting this week, and one week after the State was sued by a former State Board employee. The lawsuit alleges that the Division of Professional Registration usurped State Board authority to fire employees who had defied Division Director warnings to stand down. What we now know through…
The Missouri Preneed Trust acquisition: What were you thinking?
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…
Missouri Preneed Portability: Out of State Funeral Home Providers
With this post we are returning to the misstatements made by the Missouri Funeral Directors and Embalmers Association in their May video explaining preneed portability. At minute 10:18 of the MFDEA video, the association attorney advises that Chapter 436 only allows transfer of preneed contracts to funeral homes licensed by the Missouri State Board. Employing…
NPS Receivership Wind Down: Does this foreshadow an end to Missouri Third Party Sellers?
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…