A 72-year-old Jackson County funeral home has ceased operations after its longtime director didn’t renew its annual state license at the end of 2016.
Without that required license, James D. Weesner Jr. is unable to perform funerals at Winklepleck-Weesner Funeral Home at 320 N. High St., Brownstown.
Weesner, who could not be reached for comment, has owned and operated the funeral home since the death of his father, James Weesner Sr., in October 2006. The elder Weesner purchased the funeral home in 1967 from Harry and Vernal Winklepleck, who had move it from Freetown in June 1994.
Andy Clayton, executive director of the Indiana Funeral Directors Association, said unfortunately at this time it is not known how many people had purchased prearranged funeral services through the funeral home, but he understands the concerns of those who might have done so.
Weesner attempted to renew the funeral home’s license, but by the time he did, he had become the subject of a complaint about his sale of prearranged funeral services, said Meredith Lizza, director of communications and legislative affairs for the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency.
Weesner’s license to be a funeral director does not expire until the end of 2018, but the license to operate the funeral home is issued separately by the state.
During the investigation of that complaint, which was filed Feb. 10 by Timothy M. Weber, deputy attorney general with the Office of the Attorney General, it was determined that Weesner had not had a certificate of authority to sell prepaid services since 2004. The certificate of authority does not have a cost if renewed on time each year, while funeral home and funeral director licenses cost $50 annually in Indiana.
That complaint was based on information the state had received from a woman who had entered into an Indiana Irrevocable Prepaid Funeral Plan Trust Agreement with Winklepleck-Weesner for services in exchange for $14,315.15 on March 9, 2016.
Weesner cashed the woman’s check but did not place the funds into an irrevocable trust within 30 days of entering the agreement as required by state law, Clayton said.
That trust can be in the form of a funeral insurance policy or in the form of an irrevocable funeral bank trust or cash trust, he said.
“While that person is alive, the funeral home cannot be in possession of that money beyond 30 days of the original transaction or they are in violation of Indiana law,” Clayton said.
After her husband’s own prepaid funeral Aug. 26, 2016, at Winklepleck-Weesner, the woman asked Weesner to transfer ownership of her funeral arrangements and trust agreements to a Seymour funeral home.
More than 45 days after her request — made Sept. 12, 2016 — the woman contacted the local bank where the agreement called for the trust to be placed and found a trust had not been established in her name, according to the complaint.
Weesner returned the money to the woman with a cashier’s check for $14,411.87 on Nov. 3, 2016.
Lizza said the complaint is scheduled for a hearing Oct. 5 in front of the State Board of Funeral & Cemetery Services.
Clayton said if other people with prepaid funerals with Winklepleck-Weesner have concerns about whether their money is still intact, there is a process for people to get their money back.
“There is a consumer protection fund, which is funded by funeral homes,” Clayton said. “All they have to do is be able to prove that they did in fact give money to the funeral home.”
Lizza said Winklepleck-Weesner’s clients who have questions or wish to file a complaint may contact the attorney general’s office or the state licensing agency.
Clients of Winklepleck-Weesner who have prepaid arrangements should find their original documentation, said Jackie Gibson, district director of the Indiana Funeral Directors Association. Gibson also is the funeral director for Johnson Funeral Home in Vallonia.
“Paperwork is going to be a very important thing for people to come up with because there has to be proof,” she said. “Then the paperwork can be taken to another funeral home of their choice where they can be helped by the funeral director.”
The documents should have the name of the financial institution where the client’s funds were placed, and then they can call that place to check on their money. If they can’t find the paperwork, they can call local banks to locate their funds, she said.
“When the clients do start over with another funeral home, they have to be aware they are starting over with a new trust and need to pay the new funeral home,” Gibson said. “The hope is that they will get reimbursed from the consumer protection fund for any lost funds.”
If people feel more comfortable talking with a local funeral home rather than calling the state office, any of the local funeral directors will try to help them, Gibson said.
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Information: Contact the attorney general’s consumer protection division at 800-382-5516 or 317-232-6330 to speak with a representative regarding a consumer scam or consumer complaint or visit in.gov/attorneygeneral
Also: You may call the State Board of Funeral & Cemetery Service at 317-234-3031, email [email protected] or visit in.gov/pla/funeral.htm
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Winklepleck-Weesner Funeral Home traces it roots to Harry and Vernal Winklepleck, who operated a funeral home in Freetown for many years before moving it to Brownstown in June 1944.
James Weesner Sr. began working at the funeral home in 1963 and purchased it from Vernal Winklepleck in 1967. James Weesner Jr. began working there as a funeral director and embalmer in 1981.
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