$18 million deal in dispute on funeral trust

SPRINGFIELD — A lawsuit over pre-paid funeral plans has ended with an $18 million deal meant to ensure thousands of families get the services they were promised.

Merrill Lynch Life Insurance Agency agreed to pay the money after a group of funeral directors dropped their lawsuit.

The dispute involves money placed in a trust fund to cover the cost of funerals that had been purchased in advance by some 47,000 families. The fund was administered by the Illinois Funeral Directors Association,

Merrill Lynch was accused of selling the association bad investment tools to manage the trust fund.