At its March meetings, the State Board again received from the Division staff a rule proposal that would define the minimum records that a preneed seller would have to maintain. The first recordkeeping proposal was offered last July, but was never discussed. The recordkeeping proposal was subsequently included on the December agenda, but was only
chapter 436
Missouri’s Second Round of Exams: The Committee’s Role
By Bill Stalter on
In September we posted about a regulation proposal that sought to define the role of a sub-committee of the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors (Missouri’s Financial Examination Committee: What Role?). While the Board eventually gave its staff instructions to revise that proposal, the regulation has yet to resurface. Instead, the…
Missouri’s Second Round of Exams: Exit Interviews
By Bill Stalter on
In a prior post we alluded to Missouri preneed sellers’ complaints about the examination process, and that the follow up process to the on-site review has been unnecessarily burdensome. Subsequent to the examiner’s departure from the funeral home, the seller received an exception list of missing contracts or documents, which the seller can often quickly…
Missouri Preneed Examinations: Round 2
By Bill Stalter on
When the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors meet on January 6th, the main topic of discussion will be the scope of the next round of preneed financial examinations. With the passage of Senate Bill No. 1 in 2009, the State Board was given the responsibility of conducting a preneed examination…
New Missouri Preneed Recordkeeping Requirements: base records and uniformity
By Bill Stalter on
The Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors will meet December 9th, and their agenda includes a proposed regulation for new preneed recordkeeping requirements. Borrowing perhaps from other states’ preneed audit manuals, the regulation sets out a list of journals, ledgers, documents that a preneed seller would be required to maintain. For an…
The Missouri Fund Manager: What was Grandfathered?
By Bill Stalter on
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 Missouri Funeral Trust and its Catch-22
By Bill Stalter on
A status hearing is scheduled for September 28th in the lawsuit filed by the Missouri Funeral Trust against the State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors and Catholic Fraternal Life. The lawsuit is now 4 months removed from the request for a temporary restraining order that, among other relief sought, would stay the financial…
Missouri’s Financial Examination Committee: What role?
By Bill Stalter on
When the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors meet this week, the role of the Board’s Financial Examination Committee will be discussed. As established, the Financial Examination Committee was intended to expedite the exam process. The initial Committee consisted of the Board’s public member and a former industry member who had previously acknowledged…
Trustee Investment Liability: The Preneed Purchaser Wild Card
By Bill Stalter on
Back in March, the NPS Special Deputy Receiver won a judgement of $355 million against PNC Bank (as successor to Allegiant Bank). In defense of Allegiant Bank, PNC argued that Missouri’s Chapter 436 defined the trustee’s duties as owed solely to the preneed seller. That was the intent of the Missouri Funeral Directors Association when…
The Missouri Agenda: a few clean up provisions
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Missouri - SB1
The Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors will meet to July 21st to discuss “a short slate” of legislation and regulation proposals. While many of the proposals have been previously discussed, some, such as the preneed shortage funding requirement, are new. We also note regulation proposals regarding when forms and reports…