William Stalter is the founder of Stalter Legal Services and the Preneed Resource Company. Bill focuses his law practice on preneed and death care compliance, serving banks, funeral homes, crematories, and cemeteries. He has written multiple published articles
By Bill Stalter on Posted in Compliance,Exams/audits,Missouri - SB1The latest rumor being spread about the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors is that the Board members met in a closed executive session without staff or attorneys to discuss the need for change in the legal representation of the Board. According to the rumor, the decision was made to send the Board… Continue Reading
By Bill Stalter on Posted in Exams/audits,Missouri - SB1,Recordkeeping,Reporting,UncategorizedPursuant to a notice that may, or may not, satisfy state law, the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors met in closed session this morning. At the State Board’s December meeting, Division counsel advised that 24 hours’ notice to the public was required to amend the Board’s agenda. Notice of this 9:00 am… Continue Reading
By Bill Stalter on Posted in Compliance,Exams/audits,Missouri - SB1,Recordkeeping,UncategorizedWith 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 those… Continue Reading
By Bill Stalter on Posted in Associations,Exams/audits,Master Trusts,Missouri - SB1,RecordkeepingIn 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 open… Continue Reading
By Bill Stalter on Posted in Exams/audits,Missouri - SB1For 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… Continue Reading
By Bill Stalter on Posted in Exams/audits,Missouri - SB1,UncategorizedIn 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… Continue Reading
By Bill Stalter on Posted in Administration,Compliance,Master Trusts,Missouri - SB1,RecordkeepingThis 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… Continue Reading
By Bill Stalter on Posted in Missouri - SB1After a 8 month sabbatical, the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors will be back at work soon. Shortly after taking office in January, Governor Eric Greitens withdrew two interim appointments to the State Board, leaving it without a quorum to take formal actions. For the last eight months, the State Board has… Continue Reading
By Bill Stalter on Posted in Exams/audits,Missouri - SB1The 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, many… Continue Reading
By Bill Stalter on Posted in Missouri - SB1,NPS/LincolnIn an opinion issued last week, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down key NPS trial rulings that resulted in a $491 million jury verdict against PNC Bank (as the successor to Allegiant Bank). The appeals opinion states that the trial court erred when it allowed the NPS receiver to argue tort based claims… Continue Reading
By Bill Stalter on Posted in Compliance,Missouri - SB1As 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… Continue Reading
By Bill Stalter on Posted in Compliance,Missouri - SB1,UncategorizedDespite lacking sufficient members to take official actions, the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors met last week to discuss Executive Order 17-03. As we reported back in January (Missouri Rule Rollback), the Order represents a significant undertaking by the State Board. Seven months later, the State Board has less than a year… Continue Reading
By Bill Stalter on Posted in Master Trusts,Missouri - SB1While 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 does… Continue Reading
By Bill Stalter on Posted in Compliance,Exams/audits,Missouri - SB1,Recordkeeping,UncategorizedIn paragraphs 53 through 71 of the MFT Complaint, the State Board sets out certain duties that only a licensed Missouri preneed seller may perform. The Complaint asserts that these seller duties are either being performed by the funeral homes that contract to be ‘providers’ with the MFT, or by Eagle Bank as trustee for… Continue Reading
By Bill Stalter on Posted in Administration,Exams/audits,Missouri - SB1,RecordkeepingIn our prior post, we looked at Paragraphs 39 through 52 of the Complaint filed against the Missouri Funeral Trust, and the implications of Missouri’s Common Trust Fund law. In this post we will look at paragraphs 79 through 95 of the State Board Complaint, and what exposures rollover funeral homes could have. The Complaint… Continue Reading
By Bill Stalter on Posted in Exams/audits,Missouri - SB1,RecordkeepingIn Paragraphs 35 through 38 of the Complaint filed against the Missouri Funeral Trust, the State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors seek discipline against MFT for its inability to produce copies of contracts sold by a funeral home that transferred its trust to MFT. The original seller funeral home apparently amended several of its… Continue Reading
By Bill Stalter on Posted in Exams/audits,Legislation,Missouri - SB1The legislation that would have converted the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors from an industry board to a consumer board did not get to a vote on the floor, but got further than most expected. Seeking to make the State Board more responsive to preneed consumers, Rep. McGaugh’s efforts got an unexpected… Continue Reading
By Bill Stalter on Posted in Exams/audits,Missouri - SB1,RecordkeepingThe next claim made in the Missouri State Board Complaint against the Missouri Funeral Trust is that the program is holding funds for preneed contracts that have either been serviced or canceled. The Complaint cites Section 436.456 as legally requiring the MFT trustee to distribute an account’s funds when it receives documentation that the contract… Continue Reading
By Bill Stalter on Posted in Compliance,Exams/audits,Missouri - SB1,RecordkeepingParagraph 26c of the Complaint filed by the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors alleges that the Missouri Funeral Trust fails to maintain “records regarding the insurance policies for insurance funded preneed contracts….” We suspect this claim may be directed at a practice where the MFT trustee has accommodated funeral homes that have… Continue Reading
By Bill Stalter on Posted in Compliance,Exams/audits,Missouri - SB1,RecordkeepingParagraph 26b of the Complaint filed by the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors alleges that the Missouri Funeral Trust fails to maintain “records that explain why the principal held in trust exceeds the face value of the preneed contract associated with that account…” We anticipate that this claim is considering the contract… Continue Reading
By Bill Stalter on Posted in Exams/audits,Missouri - SB1,Recordkeeping,UncategorizedWe start our review of the case against the Missouri Funeral Trust with the procedural issues raised in the State Board’s Complaint and MFT’s Answer. From the Answer, we learn that the preneed financial examination was initiated on January 20, 2011. But, it was almost three years before an examination report was sent by the… Continue Reading
By Bill Stalter on Posted in Exams/audits,Missouri - SB1,UncategorizedWith the support of the Missouri Funeral Directors and Embalmers Association, The Funeral Consumer Board Bill (HB 596) was voted out of committee last week with a crucial amendment. As reported in our January 19th post, Rep. McGaugh wants a preneed regulator that is more responsive to the consumer. The Representative’s constituents lost hundreds of… Continue Reading
By Bill Stalter on Posted in Exams/audits,Master Trusts,Missouri - SB1,Recordkeeping,UncategorizedAfter 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… Continue Reading
By Bill Stalter on Posted in Exams/audits,Missouri - SB1It has been more than a year since the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors approved the expansion of the scope of financial examinations. Consequently, preneed sellers up for their second preneed audit are receiving notices that request the following reports and documents: A current statement from your state or federally chartered financial… Continue Reading
