The next claim made in the Missouri State Board Complaint against the Missouri Funeral Trust is that the program is holding funds for preneed contracts that have either been serviced or canceled. The Complaint cites Section 436.456 as legally requiring the MFT trustee to distribute an account’s funds when it receives documentation that the contract
Missouri - SB1
MFT Complaint: Insurance Contract Records
By Bill Stalter on
Paragraph 26c of the Complaint filed by the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors alleges that the Missouri Funeral Trust fails to maintain “records regarding the insurance policies for insurance funded preneed contracts….” We suspect this claim may be directed at a practice where the MFT trustee has accommodated funeral homes that have…
The MFT Complaint: Principal in Excess of the Preneed Contract
By Bill Stalter on
Paragraph 26b of the Complaint filed by the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors alleges that the Missouri Funeral Trust fails to maintain “records that explain why the principal held in trust exceeds the face value of the preneed contract associated with that account…” We anticipate that this claim is considering the contract…
The MFT Complaint: Records and the Administration of Consumer Funds
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Exams/audits, Recordkeeping
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…
Missouri’s Funeral Consumer Board: Another Step Closer
By Bill Stalter on
With the support of the Missouri Funeral Directors and Embalmers Association, The Funeral Consumer Board Bill (HB 596) was voted out of committee last week with a crucial amendment. As reported in our January 19th post, Rep. McGaugh wants a preneed regulator that is more responsive to the consumer. The Representative’s…
Missouri Exam Documents: Trustee Records
By Bill Stalter on
In a prior post, we listed the records sought by the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors when an examination is scheduled against a preneed seller. In this post we will look at the five bullet points that involve the preneed trustee:
- A current statement from your state or federally chartered financial institution/s
…
Round 2 of Missouri’s Preneed Exams: The Document Request
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Exams/audits, Missouri - SB1
It has been more than a year since the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors approved the expansion of the scope of financial examinations. Consequently, preneed sellers up for their second preneed audit are receiving notices that request the following reports and documents:
- A current statement from your state or federally chartered financial
…
Missouri Seller Records: Avoiding the next Polley
By Bill Stalter on
Prosecutors and investigators have commented to our office about how difficult it can be to prove preneed fraud. They won’t know whether the consumer has been harmed until the death of the contract beneficiary, and then whether the funeral is provided. In Missouri, prosecuting a bad apple funeral director got much easier as of January…
Missouri Preneed Seller Records: Format of Records
By Bill Stalter on
The next section of the Missouri preneed records rule provides the funeral home latitude to maintain records in either a hard paper copy or an electronic format, but so long as the records are provided to the State Board in a timely manner:
All records required to be maintained by a seller may be maintained…
Missouri Preneed Seller Records: Existing Insurance Policies
By Bill Stalter on
We anticipate that the following section of the Missouri record keeping proposal is directed at the situation where consumers assign an existing insurance policy to the funeral home:
All information obtained or possessed by the seller related to any insurance policy used to fund any preneed contract that may include, but not be limited to…