Jo Ann Howard & Associates, P.C., the receiver of National Prearranged Services, recently sent out a notice to funeral home providers that suggests to us that a settlement with PNC Bank may be in the offering. The “Notice to Funeral Homes” advises that funeral homes will have until June 1st to provide documentation
Preneed
NPS’ Trustee and Income Distributions: Who needs Income?
By Bill Stalter on
We had hoped that the Trial Court’s Finding of Facts would shed some light on how a Missouri preneed trust holding life insurance would have income to distribute. Despite being invested primarily in life insurance policies, Allegiant Bank made monthly income distributions to NPS. The Trial Court made several findings on how Allegiant Bank failed…
NPS’ Trial Court: Trustees and Individual Deposit Records
By Bill Stalter on
“Allegiant [Bank] violated the industry standard of care by not maintaining consumer-level deposit records, because, as here, where there are multiple beneficiaries of a trust, the trustee must keep records of the individual deposits made for each consumer.”
This finding by the trial court in the NPS civil trial had to come as a shock…
National Prearranged Services: A Serious Lack of Fiduciary Oversight
By Bill Stalter on
National Prearranged Services is back in the news after a trial court issued a new $102 million judgment against PNC Bank (the corporate successor of Allegiant Bank). Allegiant Bank served as NPS’ Missouri preneed trustee for six years beginning in 1998. When PNC Bank agreed to purchase Allegiant in 2004, PNC performed due diligence that…
Missouri’s Phase 2.5 of Preneed Exams: Section 436.425 and Insurance Funded Contracts
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Exams/audits, Missouri - SB1
In our last post we discussed the need for the Missouri State Board to provide guidance to their financial examiners regarding Section 436.425 and insurance funded contract forms. In this post we will discuss Section 436.425 and trust or joint account funded contracts.
Subparagraph 9 has created confusion for examiners and sellers. That section states…
Missouri’s Phase 2.5 of Preneed Exams: Section 436.425 and Insurance Funded Contracts
By Bill Stalter on
At its April meeting, the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors discussed the formation of a “Phase 3 Committee” that would provide input for the revision of the Board financial examination handbook. The Board staff is about half way through the second round of preneed examinations (“Phase 2”), and the Board wants to…
Preneed Trusts and the QFT: The Individual Account Statement
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Preneed Tax, Taxes
We continue our discussion of the composite Federal Form 1041QFT with a post about the individual account statement.
With the composite return, income and expenses are allocated to the individual preneed account and taxes are computed at that level rather than at the trust level. To allow the IRS to test the composite tax liabilities,…
Missouri Preneed Examination Changes: the Small Seller Proposal
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Exams/audits, Missouri - SB1
The Missouri State Board of Embalmer and Funeral Directors met this past December to discuss changes to the Preneed Examination Handbook, and former Board Chairman Don Lakin made a proposal that has merit.
The State Board has licensed approximately 315 preneed sellers. The current preneed examination procedures contemplate an onsite visit to each seller. Many…
Missouri’s Exam Handbook: The Four Corners of the Manual
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Exams/audits, Missouri - SB1
Our next criticism of Missouri’s pending Exam Handbook is its violation of the Four Corners Rule, which requires a document to stand on its own when being interpreted and applied. Common law precludes parties from going to outside sources when applying the document to different situations. While the Handbook gives lip service to the Four…
Missouri’s Exam Handbook: Reviewing All Contracts for What Purposes?
By Bill Stalter on
The newest edition of the Missouri Preneed Exam Handbook has some significant problems. The one we will discuss today is ambiguous instructions regarding the review of preneed contracts. Paragraph 13 of the Handbook’s scope of financial examination states:
13) Staff shall look at 100% of all active preneed contracts that have been sold since the…