Illinois Pre Need Funeral Problem

The pre need trust fund established by the Illinois Funeral Directors Association Has been stripped of it’s license to hold and operate such a fund. This is unbelievable. The very people who have sold the funds and managed the funds have been stripped of their license due to what appear to fraudulent and or illegal activities.

The association was, as do all associations, charging a fee for running the trust. According to and article in the “Funeral Service Insider”, the fees charged were somewhere between $500,000 and $2.000,000 more then allowed by state law.  On top of that, IFDA board members borrowed money from the fund for personal use.The IFDA denies the accusations.

Merrill Lynch has advised the IFDA board members on investments and now they are the ones that will be managing  the entire trust fund. Merrill Lynch’s advice along with mismanagement by the board members have led to a shortfall of 40-60 million dollars. But still Merrill is the new trustee.

Jim Bosna, IFFA President,claims that consumers will not be affected by the shortfall in funding. This is absurd. There is not enough money in the fund to pay the funeral homes the contracted price when a death occurs. So the homes will have to find alternative ways to recoup their losses. Either through some sort of additional charge or by a general price increase that will leave all consumers paying more.

If you own a pre need account in Illinois that is invested in the association run trust you need to immediately demand a refund. If refusal is the answer, a class action lawsuit will likely be successful.

DO NOT PREPAY FOR ANY FUNERAL OR CEMETERY GOODS AND SERVICES.