Despite what some may say, the State Board shake up and the termination of its executive director came as a surprise. But the most surprising move by the Division was the termination of Randall Jennings, the preneed examination supervisor. The
Continue Reading Derailing Missouri Preneed Reform: Where will the Buck Stop?
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Preneed: A Pandora's Box of Problems
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Missouri’s Division of Professional Registration: Out of the Frying Pan into the Fire
By Bill Stalter
The State of Missouri seems hell-bent on creating work for Jefferson City attorneys. As we reported earlier this summer (You were Warned!), the Division of Professional Registration blundered in its first move to control how the State Board…
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NPS’ Anticlimactic Conclusion: the Eighth Circuit Decision
By Bill Stalter
On August 30, 2021, the legal saga of National Prearranged Services came to a rather anticlimactic conclusion. In a relatively short decision, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed Judge Richard Webber’s July 2019 judgment that awarded $102,135,393.07 damages against…
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DIY Funeral Trusts: harder than it seems
By Bill Stalter
Since the onset of Covid, the death care industry has experienced an uptick in preneed sales. As witnessed recently on the Bankrate website, the financial planning industry has taken notice. Bankrate is a website that provides comparisons of various financial…
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Does Your Cemetery Need a Friend: Independent Maintenance Associations
By Bill Stalter
Search the internet for “cemetery” and “friends of” and you will find a number of independent maintenance associations. We’re not referring to Facebook groups that organize volunteer events for an abandoned cemetery, but rather we want to highlight those formal…
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Missouri Funeral Home Inspections and Pictures: You Were Warned!
By Bill Stalter
A festering dispute between Missouri’s State Funeral Board and funeral directors association came to a head in a public conference call today. The State Board scheduled the meeting in response to its parent agency (the Division of Professional Registration) blocking…
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State Funeral Regulators: A Need for Consumer Education
By Bill Stalter
Two consumer groups recently issued failing grades to funeral regulators from 33 states. Taking the position that state funeral regulators have a duty to serve both professionals and consumers, The Funeral Consumer Alliance and the Consumer Federation of America worked…
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Diversification, the Unitrust Election and the Power to Adjust: Reviving Cemetery Care Funds
By Bill Stalter
We believe three fiduciary powers are crucial to reviving cemetery care funds: investment diversification, unitrust elections and the power to adjust. It has been more than 12 years since we first posted about the need to repair cemetery care funds…
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Cemeteries and Lost Cause Monuments: Not a Solution to the Problem
By Bill Stalter
In a recent Washington Post article, supporters of a Lost Cause monument unsuccessfully argued to have a Confederate statue moved from a county courthouse steps to a local cemetery. The article sets out some of the counter-challenge arguments we…
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Cemeteries and Lost Cause Monuments: The Counter-Challenge
By Bill Stalter
While the greater public sentiment has turned against statues honoring the Confederacy, cemetery operators should anticipate a counter-challenge to the removal of a Lost Cause monument. Support for the Lost Cause monument can be just as fervent as the calls…
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