The Missouri law governing means testing for public assistance (RSMo. Section 214.010) was amended this past August to allow an individual to set up an ‘irrevocable funeral trust account’ and exclude $9,999 of funds for funeral and burial expenses. This legislation was sought by a funeral director that wanted to offer families an
Consumer Advocates
KC Funeral Consumer Alliance: Cemetery Survey
By Bill Stalter on
The funeral industry may grumble about the FTC’s Funeral Rule, but two disclosures required by that law play important roles in the preneed transaction. The general price list is often used by funeral homes as a tool for comparing prices with the competition. And when a prearranged funeral is performed, the statement of goods and services…
Preneed: down but not dead?
By Bill Stalter on
With some industry members having already declared the preneed transaction dead, a recent AARP bulletin reports that the patient is not only alive, but it is regaining its strength. But, the reason for increasing preneed sales will only bedevil many death care operators: the rising costs of funerals.
Operators who face preneed competition will have…
Home Funerals, Funeral Homes and Professional Liability
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Consumer Advocates, Funeral
A Los Angeles Times story about Jerrigrace Lyons, California’s ‘death midwife’, generated ten days of entertaining barbs and counter-barbs on an SCI chat board. The article describes how Ms. Lyons assists families that choose home funerals in lieu of a funeral home.
One of the posts challenges a fellow funeral director for the…
Consumer Advocacy: Pulling Punches
By Bill Stalter on
Funeral homes and cemeteries are businesses that serve families when they are most vulnerable. To guard against exploitation, the death care industry establishes standards of professionalism, and state governments pass laws and regulations. Consumer advocacy plays an important role in educating consumers about these standards, and providing families tools in evaluating death care operators. To…
Preneed Portability: easier said than done
By Bill Stalter on
So why is it so tough to provide preneed portability? Because the transaction has been defined by state law as a contract between a consumer and a death care company, and federal regulators tend to agree. When the issue has arisen in the context of federal preemption, the interests of the state regulator have prevailed…
Missouri Preneed Reform: Show Me
By Bill Stalter on
With two reform bills (HB 2469 and HB 2594) already introduced into the legislature, and two substitute proposals in the works, Missouri legislators and regulators are committed to fixing a law that allowed NPS to exploit consumers and funeral homes. However, consumers and the death care industry are both having difficulty analyzing the specifics of…
Tennessee’s Preneed Legislation: the cost of doing business
By Bill Stalter on
The preneed bill that angered the Funeral Consumers Alliance in February continues to advance within the Tennessee legislature. SB 2705/HB 2763 has been placed on the calendar for the Commerce Committee for April 1st. If passed, the legislation may well make Tennessee the first state to lower its preneed trusting requirement. Despite the need for…
Maryland’s Proposed Preneed Protection Fund: all things considered
By Bill Stalter on
It must be spring: preneed reform bills are sprouting like crocus.
The direction taken by the Maryland and Tennessee legislatures in proposing protection funds drew recent criticism from the Funeral Consumers Alliance. While consumer advocates have some valid points regarding these legislative efforts, the obstacles facing states are far more complex than what most…
Non-guaranteed Preneed – The Hurdles
By Bill Stalter on
Death Care trade publications such as the Funeral Service Insider and the FuneralWire advocate that funeral homes revisit the non-guaranteed preneed contract. I agree that funeral homes should reconsider the non-guaranteed preneed contract, but for reasons different from those expressed by other authors.
The non-guaranteed preneed contract affords flexibility and portability to the individual who wants to do more…