A law that provides oversight of Missouri's funeral homes and prepaid funeral arrangements imposes new licensing requirements and financial scrutiny. It's designed to avoid a financial collapse similar to one that shook the industry in 2008. The law requires extensive new regulations of interest to attorneys who work for the industry and those who advise clients on estate planning. "I don't know another instance where an entire chapter (Chapter 436, MRS, ‘Special Purpose Contracts') was ripped up and rewritten," said Don Otto (pictured, left), an attorney and executive director of the Missouri Funeral Directors Association.

Tagged with: funeral

About 60,000 people died in Missouri in the past three years. That's a fact Donald Otto Jr. knows off the top of his head because it has a direct bearing on his clients' business. Otto is executive director and general counsel for the Missouri Funeral Directors and Embalmers Association. In an interview for the first of an occasional question-and-answer series, Otto describes the job he loves, the questions funeral directors ask in the middle of the night and the influence scandals such as the collapse of Forever Enterprises' insurance arm, National Prearranged Services, have on the industry.

Tagged with: funeral

The city of St. Joseph has agreed not to enforce an ordinance prohibiting protests at funerals, pending the outcome of a related lawsuit against a similar state statute. The city’s ordinance was passed in response to Westboro Baptist Church’s protest ...

Tagged with: American Civil Liberties Union funeral Gary Fenner U.S. District Court Westboro Baptist Church

Dealing with the death of a loved one can be difficult for anyone – mourning while still trying to make arrangements and plans for a burial. Any way to alleviate the stress of planning can help. So the Schnabel family ...

Tagged with: funeral St. Louis County Circuit Court

Shirley Phelps-Roper, the daughter of the founder of Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., sued the city of St. Joseph last week over a city ordinance barring protests around funerals and funeral processions. Phelps-Roper and members of her church believe ...

Tagged with: 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals funeral Shirley Phelps-Roper St. Joseph U.S. District Court Westboro Baptist Church

KMBC Channel 9 wants a lawsuit brought by three female on-air personalities moved to federal court, where it is asking for an interpretation of a collective bargaining agreement. The notice of removal is the station’s first response to the lawsuit ...

Tagged with: arrest collective bargaining agreement Dennis Egan funeral hostile environment Jackson County Circuit Court Kansas City Kansas City Police Department lawsuit Missouri Court of Appeals Western District Missouri Supreme Court murder Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal