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…
Zero Tolerance: Preneed Fraud and local prosecutors
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Preneed
Over the past few years, preneed frauds have been measured in terms of hundreds of millions (with the suggestion that the NPS loss will top a billion). And, funeral directors and consumers have been frustrated by the perception that regulators are helpless to stop preneed fraud. Apparently, one local prosecutor from Texas took notice.
When the…
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…
Missouri’s Price Tag for Oversight: $36
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Missouri - SB1
Missouri will look to a combination of licensing fees from preneed sellers, providers and agents to fund a portion of the projected costs of preneed oversight under SB1. But, most of SB1’s enforcement price will be funded by the $36 to be charged for each preneed contract sold. The ‘per contract’ fee is not new…
The First Week Under SB1
By Bill Stalter on
The first week under the new preneed law was a confusing one for the Missouri funeral industry. SB1 has many drafting conflicts and ambiguities, and that has give rise to different interpretations from the Attorney General’s Office, the State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors, and the death care industry.
The State Board and the…
Missouri’s deposit to trust requirement: What Grandfather Clause?
By Bill Stalter on
As its first step in educating the preneed industry about SB1’s requirements, the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors posted the Top 12 Changes to Missouri’s Pre-Need Law to its website. However, I had trouble getting past No. 2. The explanation about fiduciary reimbursements of sales expense on Pre-SB1 sales sent me back…
Missouri Memorial Sales and Chapter 436
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Legislation
For the past fifteen years or so, Missouri cemeteries could sell markers and memorials on a preneed basis without making delivery of the marker, or depositing purchaser payments into a trust. RSMo. Section 214.387 authorized cemeteries to use a segregated account to hold an amount equal to 110% of the marker’s wholesale cost. If the…
An August 28th To Do List: Missouri’s Preneed Industry
By Bill Stalter on
The Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors meets August 25th to vote on emergency rules that are intended to keep the preneed industry functioning when SB1 goes into effect on August 28th. While numerous issues have been identified to the State Board as deserving of emergency status, four stand out above the rest:…