Preneed: A Pandora's Box of Problems
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…
As its first step in educating the preneed industry about SB1’s requirements, the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors posted the Top 12 Changes to Missouri’s Pre-Need Law to its website. However, I had trouble getting past No. 2. The explanation about fiduciary reimbursements of sales expense on Pre-SB1 sales sent me back…
Reform in Illinois inched closer to reality with Governor Quinn’s "amendatory veto" of SB1682. If accepted by the Illinois legislature, the reform bill will become law on January 31, 2010.
However, the Governor is seeking a 30 day window between the deadline for the report due from the Funeral Burial Task Force and SB1682’s effective date. It is doubtful much could be done to change SB1682…
The Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors meets August 25th to vote on emergency rules that are intended to keep the preneed industry functioning when SB1 goes into effect on August 28th. While numerous issues have been identified to the State Board as deserving of emergency status, four stand out above the rest:…
Come August 28th, every Missouri funeral home that plans to sell or honor a preneed contract must file a Notice of Intent To Apply. The State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors has devised this form to ease the rush that will occur when hundreds of licenses must be obtained. However, many Missouri funeral homes…
Recent cemetery failures are causing regulators from Illinois, Missouri and Kansas to take a closer look at the oversight provided for preneed sales of vaults, markers, urns and burial services.
Cemetery preneed is a different animal for that offered by funeral homes. As Mr. Newcomer suggested to a reporter, the big difference between the…
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…
Missouri’s Chapter 436 reform law goes into effect on August 28th, and the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors will have the responsibility of implementing the new changes. However, the State Board is caught in a Catch 22 situation.
Many of the changes will have to be implemented through regulations, but the Board…
My kids hate August because it means its time to head back to school. This year’s student population in Missouri will be a little larger than last year’s. The Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors has released its meeting agenda, and the state’s preneed industry will be given four crash courses beginning July 30th.
Generally, freshman orientation…
Governor Nixon signed Senate Bill No. 1 on July 16th, giving Missouri preneed sellers six weeks to prepare for Chapter 436’s new requirements. For trust-funded contracts, one of those requirements will be the deposit of all preneed payments to trust. Section 436.430.2 provides in part:
A seller must deposit all payments received on a preneed…