§27-17A-34. Disbursement of funds.

(a) Disbursement of funds discharging any preneed contract for funeral services or funeral merchandise fulfilled after May 1, 2002, shall be made by the trustee to the certificate holder upon receipt by the trustee of a certification of the certificate holder that the preneed contract has been performed in whole or in part or the preneed contract has been cancelled. Before the trustee may disburse any trust funds, the certificate holder shall provide to the trustee a death certificate or other valid proof of death, a letter from the preneed contract holder cancelling the preneed contract or valid proof the contract has been cancelled in accordance with Section 27-17A-33, or valid proof the merchandise has been delivered and installed, and services have been performed. Any trustee accepting preneed contract proceeds under this article may rely upon the certification of the certificate holder accompanied by the required proof, and shall not be liable to anyone for such reliance. If the contract is only partially performed, the disbursement shall only cover that portion of the contract performed. In the event of any contract default by the contract purchaser, or in the event that the funeral merchandise or funeral service contracted for is not provided, the trustee shall return, within 30 days after its receipt of a written request therefor, 100 percent of the funds deposited into the trust on the contract and the income and accretion thereon to the certificate holder or to its assigns, subject to Section 27-17A-33.

(b) For all contracts effective on or after January 1, 2015, the amount that may be withdrawn from the trust upon fulfillment or cancellation of any particular preneed contract may not exceed the amount attributable to that preneed contract in proportion to the total amount held in trust for all preneed contracts as of the date of withdrawal. For all contracts in effect before January 1, 2015, the valuation of each contract and the amount that may be withdrawn from the trust may be calculated using any valuation method that had been approved by the commissioner or the department before January 1, 2015.

(Act 2002-74, p. 221, §1; Act 2014-216, §3.)