Missouri will allow more people to sell caskets
Missouri consumers could have more choices for buying caskets and other funeral merchandise under a new rule resulting from an agreement between a state board and federal authorities.
The Federal Trade Commission issued a finding Tuesday that the Missouri Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors had been violating federal trade law by requiring sellers of caskets and other funeral merchandise to be licensed funeral directors and embalmers.
The FTC said the state board’s rules limited competition in the sale of funeral merchandise, keeping prices artificially high.
The Missouri board agreed to change its rules. It will publish statements in its newsletter and on its website indicating that it doesn’t restrict the sale of such merchandise.
Emily Kampeter, a spokeswoman for the state board, said the state had agreed to make changes in March 2007, but the new rule did not take effect until May 30.
William Stalter, a Kansas City-area lawyer who focuses on death care law, said the state’s old rule was ambiguous.
He had asked the board whether the rules would prohibit a cemetery from selling caskets. Later, he learned that the FTC was investigating the state’s rule.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Burial, Caskets, Industry News
