The next issue in our review of the MFT Complaint concerns the State Board allegation that the MFT fails to maintain adequate records to document how much consumers have paid and that the proper amounts were deposited to trust. In subsequent sections of the Complaint, the State Board asserts that the MFT in some instances
audit
Missouri’s desk audit: the first look will take the longest
By Bill Stalter on
As discussed in prior posts, the Missouri preneed audit process begins with a notice to the preneed seller for the production of documents and data. After a review is made of the documents, data and the annual reports filed with the State Board, an on-site examination is scheduled with the seller. Most Missouri preneed sellers…
Missouri’s Document Production Request
By Bill Stalter on
The examination of a Missouri preneed seller begins with a request that certain documents be submitted to the State Board within 3 weeks. The purpose for the document production is to allow the examiner to perform a desk audit of the seller’s operable documents before an on-site visit is made. From those documents the examiner…
I’m a funeral director, not a fund manager!
By Bill Stalter on
Preneed scandals in Illinois, Missouri, Texas, and California have state regulators moving to implement new audit procedures. But with new laws passed in the wake of NPS and state master trust problems, the frequency and scope of the future audit could change dramatically. It is no secret that the scope of the preneed audit in…
The Preneed Database: another audit tool
By Bill Stalter on
As reported previously in the blog, the State of Nebraska began to implement a preneed contract database in 2010 when master trusts were requested to provide individual contract data in an electronic format. The request was expanded to all preneed sellers in 2011.
Kansas Secretary of State sought legislation in 2010 for the authority to…
The Independent Preneed Trustee: In a Perfect World
By Bill Stalter on
A breakdown in communications between the CFDA and the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau has resulted in the California Attorney General filing a lawsuit that can be appropriately described as vitriolic. The “California lawsuit” could provide some valuable ‘what to avoid” lessons for regulators in other states.
In an unusual move, the Bureau went…
Dropping A Dime in the Land of Lincoln
By Bill Stalter on
A few years ago, a past president of the NFDA wrote in The Director that funeral directors should begin blowing the whistle on industry cheaters. This blog raised a concern over whether funeral directors understood applicable preneed laws well enough to become whistleblowers. A recent news article in the Morris Daily Herald contains facts to…
Four Loaded Questions: Missouri Cemetery Preneed
By Bill Stalter on
Missouri cemeteries received a brief questionnaire last week from their primary regulator. The Office of Endowed Care Cemeteries (the OECC) has responsibility for enforcement of Chapter 214, the Missouri law that governs endowed care requirements and preneed sold by licensed cemeteries. The OECC would seem to be sizing up cemeteries as candidates for Chapter 214…
Step Out of the Box: a California request
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Compliance
According to Wikipedia,
Regulation is "controlling human or societal behavior by rules or restrictions." Regulation can take many forms including legal restrictions promulgated by a government authority…….
So, regulators are charged with the task of interpreting “legal restrictions” and determining what businesses can or cannot do. When the applicable law is well drafted, and further…
An Educational Process
By Bill Stalter on
Missouri is one of the few states that does not impose a continuing education requirement for funeral directors. Where continuing education is required, the state funeral director association typically sponsors programs that satisfy the CE requirements, and provides revenues needed to supplement the association’s budget needs.
The passage of SB1 has provided the Missouri Funeral…