Exhibit 5.1

    Opinion of Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, the legal counsel to the Company.



March 19, 2007


Meta Financial Group, Inc.
121 East Fifth Street
Storm Lake, Iowa  50588


Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have acted as counsel to Meta Financial Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation
(the "Company"), in connection with the preparation and filing of a Registration
Statement on Form S-8 (the "Registration Statement") for the registration under
the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Act"), of the issuance and/or sale
by the Company of up to an additional 200,000 shares (the "Shares") of the
Company's common stock, $0.01 par value per share (the "Common Stock"), pursuant
to the Meta Financial Group, Inc. 2002 Omnibus Incentive Plan (formerly known as
the First Midwest Financial, Inc. 2002 Omnibus Incentive Plan), as amended by
that certain First Amendment thereto adopted by the Company's Board of Directors
on August 28, 2006 (as so amended, the "Plan"). This opinion is being furnished
in accordance with the requirements of Item 601(b)(5) of Regulation S-K under
the Act.

In connection with this opinion, we have relied as to matters of fact, without
investigation, upon certificates of public officials and others and upon
affidavits, certificates and written statements of directors, officers and
employees of, and the accountants for, the Company. We have also examined and
relied upon originals or copies, certified or otherwise identified to our
satisfaction, of the following:

      1.    The Articles of Incorporation of the Company, as currently in
            effect;

      2.    The By-laws of the Company, as currently in effect;

      3.    Records of proceedings and actions of the Board of Directors and the
            shareholders of the Company relating to the Plan;

      4.    The Plan; and

      5.    Such other instruments, documents, statements and records of the
            Company and others as we have deemed relevant and necessary to
            examine and rely upon for the purpose of this opinion.

In connection with this opinion, we have assumed the legal capacity of all
natural persons, the accuracy and completeness of all documents and records that
we have reviewed, the genuineness of all signatures, the due authority of the
parties signing such documents, the authenticity of the documents submitted to
us as originals and the conformity to authentic original documents of all
documents submitted to us as certified, conformed or reproduced copies.



Meta Financial Group, Inc.
March 19, 2007
Page 2 of 2


Based upon and subject to the foregoing, it is our opinion that when
certificates representing the Shares in the form of the specimen certificate
examined by us have been manually signed by an authorized officer of the
transfer agent and registrar for the Common Stock or the Shares have been
registered and issued electronically through the Depository Trust Company, and
when the Shares are issued and delivered by the Company and, to the extent
applicable, paid for in accordance with the terms of the Plan, the Shares will
be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable.

Our opinion is limited to the General Corporation Laws of the State of Delaware.
We do not express any opinion concerning any other laws. This opinion is given
as of the date hereof and we assume no obligation to advise you of changes that
may hereafter be brought to our attention.

We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion with the Securities and Exchange
Commission as an exhibit to the Registration Statement. In giving this consent,
we do not thereby admit that we are included in the category of persons whose
consent is required under Section 7 of the Act or the rules and regulations of
the Securities and Exchange Commission.



Very truly yours,

/s/ KATTEN MUCHIN ROSENMAN LLP

KATTEN MUCHIN ROSENMAN LLP