In a motion to convert the Wisconsin Master Trust from a preneed trust to a liquidating trust, the Receiver outlined to the court why the trust cannot keep its promises to consumers and comply with Wisconsin’s preneed law. Section 445.125 restricts preneed funeral trusts to depository accounts, and CD returns won’t even pay the
Preneed
Meet Me in St.Louis: the Death Care Regulators Convention
By Bill Stalter on
Missouri’s death care regulators will play host to their peers next week when the North American Death Care Regulators Association convention is held in St. Louis. When you host a convention in NPS’ backyard, the agenda needs to include sessions on what went wrong. The final session of the agenda will catch every …
The Wulf Conviction: Defining a New Fiduciary Standard for Fund Managers?
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Master Trusts, Preneed
The jury did not buy the Wulf defense, and now the former NPS fund manager faces a much, much longer prison term than Doug Cassity. To get a better understanding of the positions taken by the prosecution and the defense, we will seek briefs and jury instructions. However, the US Attorney’s press release gives some…
The Bernanke Factor: The New Volatility for Death Care Trusts
By Bill Stalter on
A Missouri preneed auditor recently requested an explanation from a client why certain accounts were underfunded. The handful of accounts were “underfunded” by varying amounts of a few dollars to twenty dollars. The common fact with each was an initial deposit or substantial deposit in the month preceding the Federal Chairman’s remarks that …
The NPS Criminal Trial: Vicarious Liability?
By Bill Stalter on
David Wulf may stand alone in the crosshairs of the criminal prosecutors, but his fate will impact the NPS preneed trustees (and possibly other registered investment advisors who manage death care funds).
Mr. Wulf had a situation that is unique from what existed in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Tennessee, but is familiar to other death care…
The Cassity Plea: A new shell game?
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in NPS/Lincoln, Preneed
This was not the ending that most expected. After decades of playing shell games with regulators and funeral homes, Doug Cassity accepted a plea bargain rather than go to trial. Brent Cassity also accepted a plea bargain, and the St. Louis Post Dispatch reports that attorneys for one of the remaining defendants were scurrying to…
Wisconsin: Breaking the Settlement Logjam
By Bill Stalter on
In prior posts we have documented certain similarities between the old IFDA master trust and the Wisconsin master trust, and our Illinois clients have expressed sympathy for their colleagues to the north. But, key differences exist between the two master trusts, and the recent settlement agreement offered to Wisconsin funeral homes is an indication that…
Nebraska’s Push to Market
By Bill Stalter on
The Nebraska Department of Insurance released its legislative proposal for revising the preneed law that has been in effect since 1987. Written during a time when interest rates were high, the Nebraska law imposed a CPI accrual but allowed income in excess of that accrual to be distributed to the preneed seller. The law also…
The Next Installment to Missouri Preneed Oversight: Will there be a quiz?
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Missouri - SB1, Preneed
My son, the 5th year senior, lamented to my wife and I a few months ago about a reading assignment given in an engineering lab. He was frustrated because the assignment would take all weekend, and the Jayhawks would be at Allen Fieldhouse that Saturday. I questioned him whether the professor had given the…
Missouri’s Exam Progress: Time for Changes?
By Bill Stalter on
The Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors will meet in a few weeks, and the topic of fees may be on the agenda. The staff broached the fees topic at the spring meeting, but the matter was tabled for subsequent discussion. Fees and the preneed examination process go hand in hand, and…