A “Spend Down” is the transaction where a person seeking public assistance transfers money or insurance to a funeral home to avoid having the “asset” count as a resource. It is a commonly held perception that the Spend Down accounts for many preneed contract purchases. But should all Spend Downs trigger the state preneed law
missouri
Bad Paper: Missouri’s looming audit dilemma
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Missouri - SB1, Preneed
The Missouri Funeral Director and Embalmer Association provided crucial support to the passage of Senate Bill No. 1, but the heart of the association’s membership, the mom and pop operators, may now be second-guessing that decision.
SB1 provides regulators the authority to audit or examine preneed trusts and joint accounts, including those established prior to…
Start Preparing a Plan
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Missouri - SB1, Preneed
In May 2009, the American Funeral Director editorial advised that fixing preneed has to be a cooperative effort, and that the industry needs to agree upon a plan before attempting to legislate a fix. In that same month, the Missouri legislature passed a ‘fix’ to the NPS abuses that incorporated provisions from a mixed bag…
SB1 and Missouri’s Show Me Year
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Funeral, Missouri - SB1
The anxiety over Missouri’s new preneed law will temporarily peak this Friday with the passing of the due dates for annual reports and license applications. To give the industry a breather, and to assess SB1’s flaws, the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors reached an informal agreement on October 20th to table any…
Setting Up Small Funeral Homes To Fail: Joint Accounts
By Bill Stalter on
Like most states’ preneed laws, Missouri’s Chapter 436 has always contemplated a depository accounts for the small funeral operator who provides preneed as an accommodation. Many funeral homes do not sell enough preneed to warrant the expense and hassle of either a trust or an insurance license. Chapter 436 allows the funeral director to place…
Third time’s the Charm: Preneed Legislation
By Bill Stalter on
The old axiom was that it would take three consecutive legislative sessions to get a preneed bill passed. If Missouri and Illinois are indicators of the current preneed reform movement, the charm may be based not on attempts but actual bills passed by the legislature.
The Illinois Comptroller’s proposal for preneed reform, SB1682, is progressing…
Picking Up The Tab For Death Care: Municipalities and Counties
By Bill Stalter on
Taxpayers, through their local governments, have always borne some of the cost of death care. Taxes go toward the maintenance of abandoned cemeteries and the final disposition of the indigent. But as the New York Times reports, the economy is causing more families to abandon the care of their dead to local governments. While many…
How much is too much: Missouri’s Preneed Contract Fee
By Bill Stalter on
The emergency rule that implements Missouri’s $36 per contract fee becomes ‘official’ on October 4th. Missouri funeral directors question whether the fee is too high, and whether it will contribute to the decline in preneed sales. The analysis required for the emergency rule reports that the fee is expected to generate $612,000 of revenues that will…
The first hurdles are the highest: Missouri’s SB1
By Bill Stalter on
The Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors faces two hurdles to implementing SB1: disagreements over the interpretation of key provisions and informing the industry how the Board will enforce the law. These hurdles have put the Board in to a Catch 22 situation.
SB1 was drafted under the cloud of the NPS crisis.
Missouri Preneed Fiduciaries and Big Brother
By Bill Stalter on
One criticism of Missouri’s prior preneed law was that the Attorney General’s office was dependent upon the State Board to refer complaints for legal enforcement. If the State Board didn’t refer a Chapter 436 violation, the AG’s only enforcement alternative was to pursue an action under Missouri’s Merchandising Practices Act (Chapter 407). During the 2008…