Death Care Compliance Law

• Setting the Record Straight: Opposition to the Missouri Division of Professional Registration
  When an Association Press story broke a few months ago, the MFDEA response was to suggest that the reporter had been influenced by individuals who were anti-Governor Parson and anti-Division.  But the reality is that funeral directors opposed to Ms. Solon’s actions are supporters of Governor Parson.  Multiple parties reached out to the Governor to... […]
  Bill Stalter
• Setting the Record Straight: The Inspection Dispute
  MFDEA members like one past president have written to the Governor to commend the Division acting director for having put an end to the State Board’s “photographic surveillance” of funeral homes.  This past president of MFDEA stated that instead of actually inspecting the funeral home, the Board inspectors were taking pictures which were then reviewed... […]
  Bill Stalter
• Setting the Record Straight: Derailing Missouri Preneed Reform
  In this post we are breaking a rule that we have followed since the startup of the blog: maintaining the anonymity of a source.   In our post Derailing Missouri Preneed Reform we referred to our source as having an irrefutable reputation within the industry.  Those who follow this blog instantly understood that the statement had... […]
  Bill Stalter
• Setting the Record Straight: Preneed Audits will be Delayed Until Further Notice
  In an earlier post we reported how the acting director for the Division of Professional Registration advised the Governor that State Board changes were needed to be made “to increase efficiency and fiscal responsibility.”  Improvements were needed, “especially with inspections and financial examinations”, and that there could be potential cost savings of $200,000.  In a... […]
  Bill Stalter
• Setting the Record Straight: The Autonomy given State Boards
  An issue lost in the debate whether to confirm the Gubernatorial appointments of Sheila Solon and four members to the State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors is the autonomy granted to state boards by the Missouri Legislature through RSMo. Section 324.001.11.  Through subsections (3) and (4) the Legislature limits the Division of Professional  Registration’s... […]
  Bill Stalter
• The Missouri Gottcha Board: A Speed Bump to Fiscal Responsibility
  This past August we received an email from the Gottcha Board asking about availability to attend a closed meeting call.  Anticipating a client was in trouble, we responded that we would accommodate the Board’s request.  However, the Board’s purpose for the call was to make an inquiry about representation to resolve the dispute with the... […]
  Bill Stalter
• Missouri’s Gottcha Board: Drilling Deeper
  This past Friday morning, news outlets across the country picked up an Associated Press story regarding Governor Parson’s October ouster of Missouri’s Gottcha Board.  (For those not familiar with the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors, the tag “Gottcha Board” was first given to the Board in 2020 by the Missouri Funeral Directors... […]
  Bill Stalter
• Derailing Missouri Preneed Reform: Where will the Buck Stop?
  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 examination supervisor had no role whatsoever in the funeral home inspection process.  Baffled by that... […]
  Bill Stalter
• Missouri’s Division of Professional Registration: Out of the Frying Pan into the Fire
  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 of Embalmers and Funeral Directors conducts inspections of funeral homes.  Since then, the Division has also declared... […]
  Bill Stalter
• NPS’ Anticlimactic Conclusion: the Eighth Circuit Decision
  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 PNC Bank, a successor to the NPS preneed trusts.  The final damages award is a... […]
  Bill Stalter