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For twenty-two years many Missouri funeral directors have deposited 80% of the preneed funeral contract purchase price into trust, and withdrawn all income in excess of that deposit. For a $5,000 contract sold in 1998, the funeral director has been required to maintain $4,000 in trust. When that contract is performed in 2008, the funeral…

In terms of the toxic NPS fallout, Texas ranks a close second to Missouri.  In response, the Texas Department of Banking has released a legislative proposal aimed at closing what it perceives are the loopholes in Chapter 154 of the Texas Finance Code. 

To facilitate discussion of the issues with death care operators, insurance companies and fiduciaries…

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…

While the Wall Street bail out plan has many flaws, one of its proposals has wide-based support: the concept of increasing the limit on insured deposits to $250,000.  According to the New York Times, the driving force behind this proposal wasn’t the mega-banks, but rather our local banks.  

The Independent Community Bankers of America represents approximately 8,000 local…

 While the completion of the document may have felt like a birthing process to the staff of Missouri’s Division of Professional Registration, the Chapter 436 Working Group Recommendations more accurately reflects an industry position paper that has yet to be completed.   Faced with a deadline imposed by the Missouri legislature, the Division ‘finalized’ the Recommendations in an…

In response to a proposal that preneed trustees be required to provide periodic account statements to contract purchasers, a funeral director asked what liability he would have to consumers who question the trust’s performance during a year such as 2008.   Legally speaking: none. But ultimately, death care companies should be accountable to their families for the decisions…

Before the guaranteed preneed contract, funeral directors accepted pre-payment on funeral arrangements as an accommodation to their families. Funds were typically placed in a joint account or POD account at the local bank. As this practice became more common, “preneed’ laws were passed to establish requirements regarding the deposit and withdraw of funds. These laws were fairly simple…