Preneed: A Pandora's Box of Problems
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…
The Missouri State Board’s proposed exam handbook places a new emphasis on tracking consumer payments to funeral homes. There are two elements to the Board’s strategy: confirming the consumer’s funds make it to the appropriate funding agent, and that those funds are remitted to that funding agent within the time periods required by Chapter 436. …
In a prior post we alluded to Missouri preneed sellers’ complaints about the examination process, and that the follow up process to the on-site review has been unnecessarily burdensome. Subsequent to the examiner’s departure from the funeral home, the seller received an exception list of missing contracts or documents, which the seller can often quickly…
The Mississippi Secretary of State seems to be taking a very proactive approach to the regulation of preneed and perpetual care funds. Over the course of the last few years, the Regulation and Enforcement Division of the Secretary of State’s office has averaged an enforcement proceeding per month. We were curious what type of enforcement…
The staff for the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors released the revised preneed renewal reports this week, and those revisions include a few new additional requirements. Those requirements include a seller providing a ‘no tax due’ letter, proof of corporate status and any ‘doing business as’ filings. However, the new requirement …
The Kansas Secretary of State’s office bore the brunt of the criticism for a Hutchinson cemetery that siphoned off hundreds of thousands of dollars from its trust funds. That office has the responsibility of auditing cemetery trust funds (preneed merchandise and care funds). But, poor record keeping on the part of the cemetery industry has …
The licenses required to sell or service preneed in Missouri must be renewed annually, with the deadline for filing the required paperwork falling on October 31st. Technically, these licenses expire on Halloween unless the State Board staff has renewed them by that date. But, it is human nature to procrastinate, and many licensees wait until…
For most Illinois funeral homes, March 15th is the due date for the filing of their preneed data with the Comptroller’s office. For those funeral homes that bolted from the IFDA after the master trust melt down, this has been an extremely frustrating process. The majority of funeral homes must file on line, with supporting…
Maybe it’s a response to shrinking state budgets, or the fact that the tracking of preneed funds is becoming more effective, but state and local prosecutors are assuming an expanding role in the enforcement of preneed laws.
While a recent report released by the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors reflects a drop…
If their preneed contract is trust funded, Illinois consumers should soon be receiving statements from the bank or trust company that administers their account. These statements are one of the new requirements imposed by SB1682. The contents of the statements are governed by Section 2.h of the Funeral or Burial Funds Act.
The Comptroller’s Office…