NYS FAQ & Law
NEW YORK STATE
DEPARTMENT OF STATE CEMETERY BOARD
Cemetery Frequently Asked Questions
Are all cemeteries regulated by the State of New York?
No, the Division of Cemeteries and the New York State Cemetery Board regulate only those cemeteries that are incorporated under the Not-for-Profit Corporation Law.
Cemeteries that do not fall under our jurisdiction include religious, municipal, private,national and family cemeteries.
See Opinion of Counsel on Cemetery Regulation in New York State
Can a cemetery refuse burial?
Yes, but only under three conditions--all involving nonpayment. They are the following:
Nonpayment of the total purchase price of the grave or lot
Nonpayment of the burial (interment) charges
Nonpayment of an authorized lot tax
These three conditions apply only to those cemeteries under the jurisdiction of the Cemetery Board.
Can someone be buried on private property?
While some communities may have local regulations on this matter, there are no state regulations concerning burial on private property. However, the New York State Sanitary Code (10 NYCRR, Parts 100-158) does define the distances required between cemeteries and water sources (which vary from district to district) Anyone wishing to make burial arrangements on private property should check with his or her local government officials.
What is the New York State Cemetery Board, and what are its functions?
The Cemetery Board oversees the Division of Cemeteries' operations and administers the New York State Cemetery Law. The Cemetery Law sets standards for the establishment, maintenance, and preservation of burial grounds in New York State.
The Cemetery Board is made up of the New York State Secretary of State, the New York State Attorney General and the New York State Commissioner of Health.
Can I choose how my remains will be disposed of?
Yes, you have a choice of how your remains will be disposed, including cremation, burial, and entombment. Written instructions explaining your wishes are recommended.
Are there any rules on heirship regarding unused graves or family plots?
Burial rights obtained through inheritance should be recorded with the cemetery. Section 1515(b) of the Not-for-Profit Corporation Law regarding ownership of lots states that, unless specifically devised by will, (including reference to the specific lot number, section number, cemetery name), a cemetery lot is inherited by the descendants of the lot owner.
What are trust monies, and how can they be invested?
Trust monies are funds set aside, and the income is used to preserve cemetery grounds.
Trust investments are regulated by the Estates, Powers, and Trust Law of the State of New York. The law requires that cemeteries entrusted with trust monies ensure that the principal shall not be lost. Securities may take the form of interest-bearing bank accounts, certificates of deposit, stocks, and/or bonds.
Can monies be set aside for the eternal care of the cemetery?
In those cemeteries under the jurisdiction of the Cemetery Board, two principal trust funds exist: the perpetual care fund and the permanent maintenance fund. The perpetual care fund consists of individual and varied amounts of contributions by lot owners. The permanent maintenance fund is funded with a portion of current lot sale receipts and $35 from every interment.
The important distinction between these two funds is that perpetual care funds are used for the care of individual graves, plots, mausoleums, or columbarium spaces; while permanent maintenance funds are for cemetery care overall. Only the interest from these funds can be used for maintenance; the principal must remain intact.
What are service charges and how are they regulated in cemeteries?
Service charges are fees charged by cemeteries for performing any service after the purchase of the grave or lot. The Cemetery Board must approve any service charge increases proposed by incorporated cemeteries. Requests for increases must be fully documented to be considered by the Cemetery Board.
Is there any state requirement on the depth of graves?
There is no state requirement specifying the depth of a grave, although there may be local regulations that apply. For example, the City of New York requires that "when human remains are buried in the ground, without a concrete vault, the top of the coffin or casket shall be at least 3' below the level of the ground." (two feet in the case of a concrete vault)
Is a concrete vault or grave liner a requirement for burial?
A cemetery corporation may not compel the use of any particular outer enclosure, except that a cemetery may require the use of a concrete burial vault, or, at the option of the customer, a concrete grave liner under the following conditions and restrictions:the customer must have purchased the lot after January 1, 1985;
the requirement must be stated prominently in writing and a written statement must be given to the customer in advance of the signing of the agreement to lot purchase a grave or lot;
A lot owner may purchase the grave liner from any source including the cemetery.
A cemetery may not sell burial vaults.Should a lot owner object to the use of the required concrete vault or grave liner at the time of interment based upon religious belief, the cemetery must, without question, cancel the requirement; provided, however, that the cemetery may impose at the time of interment a reasonable fee for the periodic refilling of the grave;
Is there any time limit for filling a grave after burial?
While there is no legal requirement on the specific time period for backfilling a grave, the Cemetery Board does require that it be completed with reasonable dispatch.
Laws, Rules and Regulations of the
New York State Cemetery Board
CONTENTS:
NOT FOR PROFIT CORPORATION LAW ARTICLE 15
§ 1501. Declaration of policy:
The people of this state have a vital interest in the establishment, maintenance and
preservation of public burial grounds and the proper operation of the corporations
which own and manage the same. This article is determined an exercise of the
police powers of this state to protect the well-being of our citizens, to promote
the public welfare and to prevent cemeteries from falling into disrepair and
dilapidation and becoming a burden upon the community, and in furtherance of
the public policy of this state that cemeteries shall be conducted on a non-profit
basis for the mutual benefit of plot owners therein.
§ 1502. Definitions. As used in this article:
(a) The term “cemetery corporation” means any corporation formed under a
general or special law for the disposal or burial of deceased human beings, by
cremation or in a grave, mausoleum, vault, columbarium or other receptacle but
does not include a family cemetery corporation or a private cemetery corporation.
(b) The term “lot owner” or “owner of a lot” means any person having a lawful
title to the use of a niche, crypt, lot, plot or part thereof, in a cemetery, mausoleum
or columbarium.
(c) The term “cemetery board” means the cemetery board in the division of
cemeteries in the department of state.
(d) A public mausoleum, crematory or columbarium shall be included
within the term “cemetery”.
(e) The sale of a lot, plot or part thereof, grave, niche or crypt shall mean the sale
of the right of use thereof for burial purposes.
(f) The term “monuments” means a memorial erected in a cemetery on a lot, plot
or part thereof, except private mausoleums.
(g) The term “interment” means the permanent disposition of human remains by
inurnment, entombment or ground burial.
(h) The term “cremation” means the technical process, using heat and flame, that
reduces human remains to ashes and other residue. “Cremation” shall include the
processing, and may include the pulverization, of such ashes and other residue.
(i) The term “cremains” means ashes and other residue recovered after the
completion of cremation, which may include residue of foreign matter that may
have been cremated with the human remains.
(j) The term “alternative container” or “external wrappings” means a nonmetal
receptacle or enclosure, without ornamentation or a fixed interior lining, which is
designed for the encasement of human remains and which is made of cardboard,
pressed wood, composite materials (with or without an outside covering), or
pouches of canvas or other material.
(k) The term “casket” means a rigid container that is designed for the encasement
of human remains and customarily ornamented and lined with fabric.
66New York State Association of Cemeteries
(l) The term “crematory” means a facility or portion of a building in which the
remains of deceased human beings are processed by cremation.
(m) The term “holding facility” or “temporary storage facility” means an area that
(i) is designated for the retention of human remains prior to cremation;
(ii) complies with all applicable public health laws,
(iii) preserves the health and safety of the crematory personnel; and
(iv) is secure from access by anyone other than authorized persons. The interior
of such facility shall not be visible from any area accessible to the general public.
(n) The term “cremation permit” means the burial and removal permit required
pursuant to section forty-one hundred forty-five of the public health law that is
annotated for disposition of the remains of a deceased human being by cremation.
(o) The term “cremation authorization” means the crematory form authorizing a
cremation which is signed by the next of kin or authorizing agent. This crema-
tory form must be a separate document and cannot be a part of another form
or document.
(p) The term “authorizing agent” shall mean the person with the right to control
the disposition of the decedent pursuant to section forty-two hundred one of
the public health law.
(q) The term “pet cremated remains” means ashes and/or other residue recovered
after the completion of cremation of any domestic animal that has been adapted
or tamed to live in intimate association with people where such cremation has
occurred at a pet crematorium as defined in section seven hundred fifty-a of the
general business law.
(r) The term “nonsectarian burial society” means a corporation or unincorpo-
rated association or society having among its activities or its former activities
the provision of burial benefits for its members and not supervised or controlled
by a religious corporation.
(s) The term “religious burial society” means a corporation or unincorporated
association or society having among its activities or its former activities the
provision of burial benefits for its members and supervised or controlled by a
religious corporation
§ 1505. Special requirements of incorporation:
(a) Certificate of incorporation; additional contents. In addition to the require-
ments of section four hundred two (Certificate of incorporation; contents), the
certificate of incorporation of a cemetery corporation shall be filed in the office
of the clerk of each county in which any part of the cemetery is proposed to be,
or is, situated, and shall state:
(1) each city, village or town, and county, in which any part of the cemetery is or
is proposed to be situated; and
(2) the time of the annual meeting.
(b) Cemetery board endorsement. Every certificate of incorporation of a cemetery
corporation, except those within the exclusionary provisions of section fifteen
hundred three, shall have endorsed thereon or annexed thereto the approval of
the cemetery board as required in subdivision (e) of section four hundred four
of this chapter
(c) Type of corporation. A cemetery corporation is a charitable corporation
under this chapter.
(d) Lot owners in unincorporated cemeteries may incorporate.
(1) Not less than three owners of lots in an unincorporated cemetery may cause a
notice to be posted in at least six conspicuous places in the city, town or village in
which such cemetery is located, and to be published once in each week for three
successive weeks in a newspaper, if any, published in such municipality, stating
that at a time and place specified, a meeting of the lot owners will be held to
determine whether such cemetery shall be incorporated, pursuant to this chapter.
(2) The meeting shall be held at a convenient place in the city, town or village
in which the cemetery is located, not less that twenty-five nor more than thirty
days after the first posting and publication of the notice of the meeting. At such
meeting every lot owner shall be entitled to one vote in person or by proxy for
each lot owned by him. The persons entitled to vote at such meeting shall select
a chairman and secretary, and determine by ballot whether or not the lot owners
shall incorporate pursuant to this chapter.
(3) If a majority of the ballots are in favor of incorporation, the persons entitled to
vote at such meeting shall select three lot owners to incorporate and the provi-
sions of this chapter shall be applicable, except that three persons may incorpo-
rate, and the corporation shall not be required to have more than three directors.
Upon such incorporation, the lot owners shall be members of the corporation,
and it shall be vested with the title to such cemetery and the personal property
appertaining thereto. If the title to the cemetery has prior to such incorporation
vested in the town, pursuant to section two hundred and ninety-one of the town
law of section one of title seven of chapter eleven of part one of the revised
statute, the supervisor of such town shall on request of the directors of such
corporation, execute to it a deed of such cemetery lands releasing all interest
of the town therein, and thereafter the title shall be vested in the corporation.
§ 1507. Trust funds:
(a) Maintenance and preservation; permanent maintenance fund; current main-
tenance fund. Subject to rules and regulations of the cemetery board:
(1) Every cemetery corporation shall maintain and preserve the cemetery, includ-
ing all lots, plots and parts thereof. For the sole purpose of such maintenance
and preservation, every cemetery corporation shall establish and maintain (A) a
permanent maintenance fund, and (B) a current maintenance fund. At the time
of making the sale of a lot, plot or part thereof, the cemetery corporation shall
deposit not less than ten per centum of the gross proceeds of the sale into the
permanent maintenance fund. An additional fifteen per centum of the gross pro-
ceeds of the sale shall be deposited in the current maintenance fund. In addition
to the foregoing, at the time the cemetery corporation receives payment for the
performance of an interment or inurnment, the cemetery corporation shall collect
and deposit into the permanent maintenance fund the sum of thirty-five dollars.
(2) The permanent maintenance fund is hereby declared to be and shall be held
by the corporation as a trust fund, for the purpose of maintaining and preserv-
ing the cemetery, including all lots, crypts, niches, plots, and parts thereof. The
principal of such fund shall be invested in such securities as are permitted for
the investment of trust funds by section 11-2.3 of the estates, powers and trusts
law. The income in the form of interest and ordinary dividends therefrom shall be
used solely for the maintenance and preservation of the cemetery grounds. In
addition, the governing board of the corporation may appropriate for expenditure
solely for the maintenance and preservation of the cemetery grounds a portion
of the net appreciation, in the fair market value of the principal of the trust, as
is prudent under the standard established by article five-A of this chapter, the
prudent management of institutional funds act. In the event that a cemetery
corporation seeks to appropriate any percentage of its net appreciation in its
permanent maintenance fund in accordance with this subparagraph, the cemetery
corporation shall provide notice of such proposed appropriation by certified mail
to the cemetery board not less than sixty days in advance of such proposed ap-
propriation and shall disclose such appropriation as part of and in addition to their
annual reporting requirements as defined in section fifteen hundred eight of this
article, setting forth the amount of funds to be appropriated for such expenditure
and its effect on the permanent maintenance fund. Such proposed appropriation
shall become effective sixty days after receipt of such notice, unless the cem-
etery board within such sixty-day period notifies the cemetery corporation that
the board objects to the proposed appropriation. Notwithstanding the foregoing
provisions of this subparagraph, all principal of the permanent maintenance fund
shall remain inviolate, except that, upon application to the supreme court in a
district where a portion of the cemetery grounds is located, the court may make
an order permitting the principal or a part thereof to be used for the purpose
of current maintenance and preservation of the cemetery or otherwise. Such
application may be made by the cemetery board on notice to the corporation or
by the corporation on notice to the cemetery board. Unless the cemetery can
clearly demonstrate that it lacks sufficient future revenue to make repayment,
any such allowance from the permanent maintenance fund shall be in the form
of a loan, and the court shall determine the method for repayment of such a loan
by the cemetery to the fund.
(3) The current maintenance fund shall be used and applied for the sole purpose
of ordinary and necessary expenses of the care and maintenance of the cemetery.
When all burial rights in the cemetery have been conveyed, the fund remaining
on deposit or to the credit of the current maintenance fund shall be transferred
into the permanent maintenance fund.
(4) The percentage of the proceeds of sales required to be deposited in the per-
manent maintenance fund or current maintenance fund by a particular cemetery
corporation may be increased or diminished by order of the supreme court in a
district where any portion of the cemetery is located. Such application may be
made by the cemetery board on notice to the corporation or by the corporation
on notice to the cemetery board.
(b) Perpetual care of lots.
(1) Upon the application of a prospective purchaser of any lot, plot or part thereof
and upon payment of the purchase price and the amount fixed as a reasonable
charge for the perpetual care of any lot, plot or part thereof, every cemetery
corporation shall include with the deed of conveyance an agreement perpetually
to care for such lot, plot, or part thereof, to the extent that the income derived by
the corporation from such amount will permit.
(2) Such corporation also, upon the application of an owner or of the executor or
administrator of a deceased owner of any lot and upon the payment of the amount
fixed as a reasonable charge for the perpetual care of such lot, shall, and upon
the application of any other person and the payment of such amount, may enter
into a like agreement with him. Such agreement shall be executed and may be
recorded in the same manner as a deed.
(3) Any corporation organized under or subject to the provisions of this section
may enter into an agreement in writing with any executor or executors, trustee
or trustees, under a last will and testament to whom there has heretofore been,
or may hereafter be, bequeathed a sum for the perpetual care of any lot, plot or
part thereof in any such cemetery or with any administrator or administrators
with the will annexed under any such will perpetually to care for such lot, plot or
part thereof under the provisions of the terms of such last will and testament, and
subject in all cases to the approval of the surrogate’s court having jurisdiction over
such trust estate. Such approval may be evidenced by the written endorsement
of the surrogate on a duplicate original of such agreement filed in the surrogate’s
court. In case the surrogate shall approve such agreement any such executor,
trustee or administrator with the will annexed thereupon shall pay over to the
treasurer of such perpetual care fund of such cemetery corporation any moneys
remaining or being in his hands belonging to such trust, and upon making such
payment and accounting therefore to the surrogate’s court may be discharged
from said trust as such executor, trustee or administrator with the will annexed.
(c) Perpetual care fund.
(1) Every cemetery corporation and every religious corporation having charge
and control of a cemetery which heretofore has been or which hereafter may be
used for burials, shall keep separate and apart from its other funds, all moneys
and property received by it, whether by contract, in trust or otherwise, for the
perpetual care and maintenance of any lot, plot or part thereof in its cemetery,
and all such moneys or property so received by any such corporation are hereby
declared to be, and shall be held by the corporation as trust funds. Any moneys
and property so received, unless otherwise provided in the instrument under
which such moneys or property were received, shall be kept in a separate fund
to be known as the perpetual care fund.
(2) The principal of such funds, whether kept in the perpetual care fund or oth-
erwise, and unless already so invested when received, shall be invested within
a reasonable time after receipt thereof, and kept invested, in such securities as
are permitted for the investment of trust funds by sections 11-2.2 and 11-2.3 of
the estates, powers and trusts law. The income arising therefrom shall be used
solely for the perpetual care and maintenance of the lot or plots or parts thereof
for which such income has been provided. In addition, the governing board of the
corporation may appropriate for expenditure solely for the perpetual care and
maintenance of the lot or plots or parts thereof for which such income has been
provided, a portion of the net appreciation in the fair market value of the principal
of the trust as is prudent under the standard established by article five-A of this
chapter, the prudent management of institutional funds act. In the event that a
cemetery corporation seeks to appropriate any percentage of its net appreciation
in its perpetual care fund in accordance with this subparagraph, the cemetery
corporation shall provide notice of such appropriation to the cemetery board
not less than sixty days in advance of such proposed appropriation and shall
disclose such appropriation as part of and in addition to their annual reporting
requirements as defined in section fifteen hundred eight of this article setting
forth the amount of funds appropriated for such expenditure and its effect on
the perpetual care funds. Such proposed appropriation shall become effective
sixty days after receipt of such notice, unless the cemetery board within such
sixty day period notifies the cemetery corporation that the board objects to the
proposed appropriation.
3) The corporation may, for the purpose of investing and reinvesting such funds,
add the same to any similar trust fund or funds and apportion shares or interest
to each trust fund, showing upon its records at all times every share or interest.
(4) The corporation may accept in trust for the perpetual care of a lot, plot or part
thereof in its cemetery, property not made eligible for the investment of trust funds
under the foregoing provisions of this subdivision and may retain such property
in the form in which received, separate and apart from the perpetual care fund,
if directed so to do by the instrument under which such property is received, so
long as such property remains in the form in which it was received; but when-
ever such property is sold or otherwise disposed of, the proceeds of such sale
or other disposition shall be invested in the manner heretofore provided in this
subdivision for the investment of trust funds. The exchange of stock or evidences
of indebtedness issued by a corporation for stock or evidences of indebtedness
of the same corporation, or for stock, evidences of indebtedness, warrants or
script received as a result of merger, consolidation or reorganization of such
corporation, or the receipt of additional stock or evidences of indebtedness of
such corporation, as a distribution by such corporation, shall not be deemed to be
a disposition of the property originally received in trust, and such exchanged or
additional property may be retained in place and stead of the property originally
received, and under the same conditions. The corporation shall keep accurate
accounts of all funds for the perpetual care and maintenance of cemetery lots,
plots or parts thereof, separate and apart from its other funds. A copy of the record
pertaining to each such perpetual care fund shall be at all times available at the
office of the corporation during usual business hours, for inspection and copy
by any owner of an endowed lot or his representative.
(d) Perpetual care fund; allocation of income and cost of care and maintenance.
On or before the fifteenth day of March in each calendar year the officers of
every cemetery corporation shall fix and determine that portion of the income on
the investment of the principal of the perpetual care fund during the calendar or
fiscal year immediately preceding, to be apportioned to each separate lot or part
thereof for which a perpetual care agreement has been made. The cost during
such previous calendar or fiscal year of the care of each lot or part thereof shall
be allocated and charged against the income so apportioned to it. Any excess
of the income so apportioned over and above the allocated cost of the care
and maintenance of such lot or part thereof shall be credited to such lot or part
thereof, to be used in any future years to make up the deficiency if the income
apportioned to such lot or part thereof should, in any year since September first,
nineteen hundred forty-nine, or in any future year, fall, or have fallen, below the
cost of care thereof.
(e) Designation of fiduciary corporation by directors or trustees of cemetery
corporation to act as custodians of funds. Notwithstanding the provisions of
any other law, the directors or trustees of cemetery corporations are hereby
authorized to designate a bank or trust company to act as custodian and trustee
of any or all of the respective funds of such cemetery corporation received by
it for the perpetual care of lots in the cemetery thereof pursuant to paragraph
(b), of this section, the permanent maintenance of such cemetery pursuant to
paragraph (a) of this section, and for special purposes pursuant to paragraph (f)
of this section. Such corporate trustee shall be designated by a resolution duly
adopted by the board of directors or trustees and approved by a justice of the
supreme court of the judicial district in which the cemetery of said corporation
is located or the cemetery board; and the directors or trustees of such cemetery
corporation may, with the approval of the justice of the supreme court, revoke
such trust, and either take over such trust fund or name another trustee to handle
the same, but if not so revoked, such trust shall be perpetual. Any bank or trust
company accepting any such cemetery fund shall keep the same separate from
all other funds, except that it may, irrespective of any provision contained in this
article invest the same in a legal common trust fund or in shares of a mutual
trust investment company organized under the banking law, and shall pay over
the net income to the directors or trustees of the cemetery corporation by whom
it shall be expended and applied to the purpose for which such trust fund was
paid to the cemetery corporations and accounted for in accordance with such
paragraphs (a), (b) and (f) of this section.
(e-1) Monument maintenance fund.
(1) A cemetery corporation may, subject to the approval of the cemetery board,
establish and maintain a monument maintenance fund. Such a fund is hereby
declared to be and shall be held by the cemetery corporation as a trust fund,
for the purpose of providing notice if such monuments are damaged or defaced
by an act of vandalism and for the restoration of such monuments. Two or more
cemetery corporations may establish a joint monument maintenance fund.
(2) The principal of the fund shall be invested in securities permitted for the invest-
ment of trust funds by sections 11-2.2 and 11-2.3 of the estates, powers and trusts
law. The principal of such fund shall remain inviolate, except that upon applica-
tion to the cemetery board, which may make an order permitting the principal or
a part thereof to be used for the purpose of restoring monuments damaged or
defaced by an act of vandalism. The income arising from such investment shall
be used solely for the costs and expenses resulting from an act of vandalism
against monuments in such cemetery.
(3) The fund shall be financed by a charge levied at the time of each interment at
a rate established by each cemetery creating such a fund, subject to cemetery
board approval pursuant to section fifteen hundred nine of this article. Such a
charge shall be levied in addition to the approved rates for interment. The fund
may also accept gifts, donations and bequests.
(4) Each cemetery creating such a fund shall promulgate rules and regulations
to administer the fund, subject to cemetery board approval pursuant to section
fifteen hundred nine of this article. Such rules shall include the conditions under
which the income from such fund may be properly expended.
(5) The cemetery corporation shall keep accurate accounts of all moneys for the
fund, separate and apart from its other funds.
(f) Acquisition of property for special purposes and in trust.
(1) A cemetery corporation may acquire, otherwise than by condemnation, real
or personal property, absolutely or in trust, in perpetuity or otherwise, and shall
use the same or the income therefrom in pursuance of the terms of the instrument
by which it was acquired, for the following purposes only:
(i) The improvement or embellishment, but not the enlargement, of its cemetery;
(ii) The construction, preservation or replacement of any building, structure,
fence, wall, or walk therein;
(iii) The erection, renewal or preservation of any tomb, monument, stone, fence,
wall, railing or other erection or structure on or around its cemetery or any lot
or plot therein;
(iv) The planting or cultivation of trees, grass, shrubs, flowers or plants in or about
its cemetery or any lot or plot therein;
(v) The construction, operation, maintenance, repair and replacement of a crema-
tory or columbarium or both in its cemetery;
(vi) The care, keeping in order and embellishment of any lot, plot or part thereof or
the structures thereon, in its cemetery, as prescribed in the instrument transferring
such property to the cemetery corporation, or by the person or persons from time
to time having possession, care and control of such lot, plot or part thereof, as the
case may be. (2) All moneys and property received by a cemetery corporation in
trust under this subdivision, unless otherwise provided in the instrument under
which such moneys or property were received and unless already so invested
when received, shall be invested within a reasonable time after the receipt
thereof, and kept invested in such securities as are permitted for the investment
of trust funds by sections 11-2.2 and 11-2.3 of the estates, powers and trusts law.
The corporation may, for the purpose of investing and reinvesting such funds,
add the same to any similar trust fund or funds and apportion shares or interests
to each trust fund, showing upon its records at all times every share or interest.
The cemetery corporation shall maintain a record for each such trust fund. Such
record shall be at all times available at the office of the corporation during usual
business hours, for inspection and copy by any owner of an endowed lot or his
representative.
(g) Trust for the care of burial ground. A cemetery corporation, incorporated
under or by a general or special law, may receive tangible property, securities
or funds in trust, and hold and invest the same and apply the principal or income
thereof, in accordance with the terms of the trust, for the purpose of repairing,
maintaining, improving or embellishing a burial ground, not constituting a part of
the cemetery of such cemetery corporation, and located outside of a city of more
than one million inhabitants and within ten miles of the cemetery of the corporation
accepting such trust. The directors of such corporation, or a majority of them and
the treasurer, shall annually within sixty days after the close of each calendar
or fiscal year, make, sign and shall file at the office of the corporation a detailed
accounting and report of such trust funds held under this subdivision and the use
made of such funds or of the income thereof for the preceding calendar or fiscal
year, which shall include among other things, properly itemized, the securities
in which the same is then invested, and any purchases, sales or other changes
made therein during the period covered by such report. Such accounting and
report shall be at all times available at the office of the corporation, during usual
business hours, for inspection and copy by any lot owner or any contributor to
such trust fund.
(h) Vandalism, abandonment and monument repair or removal.
(1) Cemeteries incorporated under this article shall contribute to a fund created
pursuant to section ninety-seven-r of the state finance law for the maintenance of
abandoned cemeteries, including the construction of cemetery fences, placement
of cemetery lights and replacement of cemetery doors and locks, for the restora-
tion of property damaged by acts of vandalism, and for the repair or removal of
monuments or other markers not owned by the cemetery corporation that have
fallen into disrepair or dilapidation so as to create a dangerous condition. Such
fund shall be administered by a board of trustees comprised of the secretary of
state, the attorney general and the commissioner of health, or their designees,
who shall serve without additional compensation.
(2) The fund shall be financed by contributions by the cemetery corporations of
not more than five dollars ($5.00) per interment or cremation in a manner to be
determined by the New York state cemetery board. No contributions shall be
collected upon the interment of the cremains of a deceased person where a
contribution was collected upon cremations.
(3) The moneys of the fund shall be expended equally for the maintenance of
abandoned cemeteries previously owned by a corporation incorporated pursuant
to this chapter or the membership corporations law and the repair of cemetery
vandalism damage and the repair or removal of monuments or other markers
not owned by the cemetery corporation, provided, however, that the cemetery
board may determine that circumstances necessitate an unequal distribution
due to specific needs and may provide for such distribution. For purposes of this
section, the maintenance of abandoned cemeteries may include the construction
of cemetery fences, placement of cemetery lights and replacement of cemetery
doors and locks.
(4) Authorization for payments by the fund for maintenance of an abandoned
cemetery shall be made by the secretary of state only upon approval by the
cemetery board of an application by a municipality or other solvent not-for-profit
cemetery corporation for fair and reasonable expenses required to be made by
the municipality or other solvent not-for-profit cemetery corporation for mainte-
nance of an abandoned cemetery; provided, however, that the cemetery board
shall not approve any such application unless the municipality or other solvent
not-for-profit cemetery corporation acknowledges that the responsibility for
restoration and future care, preservation, and maintenance of such cemetery
has been assumed by the municipality or other solvent not-for-profit cemetery
corporation. For the purposes of this paragraph, such cemetery shall always be
deemed an abandoned cemetery.
(5) Authorization for payments by the fund for the repair of vandalism damage
shall be made by the secretary of state only on approval by the New York state
cemetery board which shall determine:
(i) that an act of vandalism to the extent described by the cemetery corporation
did take place;
(ii) that either a written report of the vandalism was filed with the local police or
sheriff’s department, or, that the cemetery, upon consent of the division, made a
determination not to file the report because the publicity generated by filing the
report would have adverse consequences for the cemetery;
(iii) that the cost of repairs is fair and reasonable; and
(iv) that the cemetery corporation has been unable to obtain funds from the lot
owner, his spouse, devisees or descendants within a reasonable period of time nor
are there adequate funds in the cemetery corporations monument maintenance
fund, if such a fund has been established by the cemetery.
(6) Authorization for payments by the fund for the repair or removal of monuments
or other markers not owned by the cemetery corporation shall be made by the
secretary of state only on approval by the New York state cemetery board on
application by the cemetery corporation showing:
(i) that the monuments or markers are so badly out of repair or dilapidated as to
create a dangerous condition;
(ii) that the cost of remedying the condition is fair and reasonable;
(iii) that the cemetery corporation has given not less than sixty days notice to the
last known owner to repair or remove the monument or other marker and the said
owner has failed to do so within the time prescribed in said notice.
(7) The New York state cemetery board shall promulgate rules defining standards
of maintenance, as well as what type of vandalism or out of repair or dilapidated
monuments or other markers shall qualify for payment of repair or removal by
the fund and the method and amount of payment of contributions described in
subparagraph two of this paragraph upon the recommendation of the state cem-
etery board citizens advisory council created by section fifteen hundred seven-a
of this article (State cemetery board citizens advisory council).
(8) Nothing contained in this paragraph is to be construed as giving a cemetery
corporation an “insurable interest” in monuments or other embellishments on
a plot, lot or part thereof, nor is it meant to imply that the cemetery corporation
has any responsibility for repairing vandalism damage not covered by this fund,
nor for repairing or removing out of repair or dilapidated monuments or other
markers not owned by the cemetery corporation, nor shall it constitute the doing
of an insurance business.
§ 1510. Cemetery duties:
(a) Posting and distribution of rules, regulations, charges and prices. The rules,
regulations, charges, and prices of lots, plots or parts thereof shall be suitably
printed and shall be conspicuously posted by the corporation in each of its of-
fices. A printed copy of prices of lots, plots or parts thereof shall be made avail-
able upon request by any person for up to the actual price of the printing of the
copy. For each day in which the corporation fails to post the rules, regulations,
charges and prices the corporation shall be subject to a penalty of twenty-five
dollars which may be recovered in a civil action by the cemetery board. For each
instance in which the corporation fails to make available a copy of the prices of
lots, plots, or parts thereof, to a person who request such copy, the corporation
shall be subject to a penalty of twenty-five dollars which may be recovered in a
civil action by the cemetery board. The cemetery board may waive the payment
of the penalty or any part thereof.
(b) Surveys and maps of cemetery. (1) Every cemetery corporation, from time to
time, as land in its cemetery may be required for burial purposes, shall survey
and subdivide such lands and make and file in the office of the corporation a
map thereof, open to public inspection, delineating the lots or plots, avenues,
paths, alleys and walks and their respective designations; a true copy thereof
shall upon its written request, be filed with the cemetery board. Any unsold lots,
plots or parts thereof, in which there are no remains, by order of the directors,
may be resurveyed and altered in shape or size, and properly designated on such
map. (2) Every cemetery corporation shall provide reasonable access to every
lot, plot and grave. This provision shall not be applicable where on September
first, nineteen hundred forty-nine such access cannot be provided without the
disinterment of a body or bodies. A cemetery corporation shall not permit or
allow a body to be interred hereafter in a path, alley, avenue or walk shown on
the cemetery maps or actually in existence. Nothing herein contained, however,
shall prevent a cemetery corporation in special cases from enlarging a lot by
selling to the owner thereof the access space next to such lot, and permitting
interments therein, provided reasonable access to such lot and to adjoining lots
is not thereby eliminated, and provided the approval of the cemetery board shall
have first been obtained.
(c) Record of burials or cremations. A record shall be kept of every burial in the
cemetery of a cemetery corporation, showing the date of burial, the name, age,
and place of birth of the person buried, when these particulars can be conve-
niently obtained, and the lot, plot, or part thereof, in which such burial was made.
A copy of such record, duly certified by the secretary of such corporation, shall
be furnished on demand and payment of such fees therefor as are allowed the
county clerk for certified copies of records. Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of this section, all cemetery corporations which conduct cremations shall
maintain permanent records of the name of the deceased human being, the
funeral home from which the remains were received, the receipt of delivery of
the deceased human remains, the authorizing agent for the cremation, and the
manner of disposition of the cremains. Such records may be reviewed by the
division of cemeteries at any time.
(d) When burial not to be refused. No cemetery corporation shall refuse or deny
the right of burial and the privileges incidental thereto in any lot, plot or part
thereof to those otherwise lawfully entitled to be buried therein, for any reason
except for the non-payment of interment charges and the purchase price of the lot,
plot or part thereof, in accordance with the terms of the contract of purchase or
except as provided in subdivision (f) of section fifteen hundred nine of this article.
(e) Removals. A body interred in a lot in a cemetery owned or operated by a
corporation incorporated by or under a general or special law may be removed
therefrom, with the consent of the corporation, and the written consent of the
owners of the lot, and of the surviving wife, husband, children, if of full age, and
parents of the deceased. If the consent of any such person or of the corporation
can not be obtained, permission by the county court of the county, or by the
Supreme Court in the district, where the cemetery is situated, shall be sufficient.
Notice of application for such permission must be given, at least eight days prior
thereto, personally, or, at least sixteen days prior thereto, by mail, to the corpora-
tion or to the persons not consenting, and to every other person or corporation
on whom service of notice may be required by the court.
(f) Expenses of improving vacant lot. Whenever a person having a lot in a cemetery
shall vacate the same by a removal of all the bodies therefrom, and leave such
lot in an unsightly condition for one month, the corporation may grade, cut, fill or
otherwise change the surface thereof, without reducing the area of the lot. The
expense, not exceeding ten dollars, shall be chargeable to the lot. If the owners
of such lot, within six months after such expense has been incurred, shall not
repay such expense, the corporation may sell the lot at public auction upon the
cemetery grounds, previous notice of such sale having been posted at the main
entrance of the cemetery, and mailed to the owners of such lot at their last-known
post office address, at least ten days prior to the day of sale, and shall pay the
surplus, if any, on demand to the owners of such lot.
(g) Removal or correction of dangerous conditions in cemetery lots. Any plant
life, fencing or embellishment or structure other than a mausoleum, monument or
mound, in a lot, plot or part thereof which becomes so worn, neglected, broken
or deteriorated that its continued existence is a danger to persons or property
within the cemetery grounds may be removed, repaired or corrected by the
cemetery corporation at its own cost and expense, provided it first gives not less
than fifteen days notice by registered or certified mail to the last known owner at
his last known address to repair or remove such object and the said owner shall
fail to repair or remove the object within the time provided in said notice. In the
event of such removal, correction or repair by the cemetery corporation it shall,
within twenty days thereafter, notify the lot owner, by registered or certified mail
addressed to him at his last known address, of the action taken by the cemetery
corporation. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to affect, supersede or
impair any contract, rule or regulation duly approved by the cemetery board, or
right or obligation of the cemetery corporation, nor shall it be construed as placing
any legal duty or obligation to exercise any right authorized by this subdivision.
(h) Repair or notice as to non-dangerous damage or defacement. Except as
otherwise provided by rule or regulation of the cemetery board pursuant to sub-
paragraph two-a of paragraph (c) of section fifteen hundred four of this article,
in the event a lot, plot or part thereof is substantially damaged or defaced which
does not present a dangerous condition to persons or property, or in the event
a mausoleum, monument or mound in a lot, plot or part thereof is substantially
damaged or defaced, and the correction of such condition is not subject to the
provisions of paragraph (g) of this section or section fifteen hundred ten-a of
this article, the cemetery corporation within thirty days of the discovery of this
condition may at its own cost and expense repair the damage or defacement, or
if it determines not to do so, the corporation shall within such thirty day period
notify the owner, his or her distributee or the person filing an affidavit with such
corporation pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (e) of section fifteen hun-
dred twelve of this article of such condition at the last address of such owner,
distributee or person appearing on the books and records of the corporation.
The notice shall be sent by first class mail and a certificate of mailing shall be
obtained. Nothing herein contained shall be construed as establishing any right
of damages not otherwise provided by law, rule or contract in any person against
the cemetery corporation for failure to repair any condition described or give
notice thereof as provided for in this paragraph.
(i) Record of inscriptions to be filed. Whenever, under any general or special
law, any cemetery is abandoned or is taken for a public use, the town board of
the town or the governing body of the city in which such cemetery is located,
shall cause to be made, at the time of the removal of the bodies interred therein,
an exact copy of all inscriptions on each headstone, monument, slab or marker
erected on each lot or plot in such cemetery and shall cause the same to be duly
certified and shall file one copy thereof in the office of the town or city clerk of
the town or city in which such cemetery was located and one copy in the office
of the state historian and chief of the division of history in the department of
education at Albany. In addition to such inscriptions, such certificate shall state
the name and location of the cemetery so abandoned or taken for a public use,
the cemetery in which each such body was so interred and the disposition of
each such headstone, monument, slab or marker.
(j) Grave markers. No cemetery corporation, which provides for the burial of
persons of the Jewish faith, shall promulgate any rule or regulation prohibiting
the use of cement beds as a means of demarcating a specific grave area. Such
cemetery corporations shall provide this service to all persons of the Jewish faith
requesting this method of marking a grave when such grave area is provided
through the agency of a membership or religious corporation or unincorporated
association or society which provides burial benefits for the members. Subject
to the rules and regulations promulgated by the cemetery board, such cemetery
corporations shall establish the schedule of charges to be assessed for installa-
tion and maintenance of cement beds. The schedule of charges shall be filed with
and approved by the cemetery board. Such regulation may require the payment
of the cost of perpetual care as a condition to such installation and maintenance.
The charges assessed shall be paid by the person requesting the service. The
provisions of this paragraph shall only be applicable within the counties contained
within the first, second, tenth and eleventh judicial districts as such districts are
arranged pursuant to section one hundred forty of the judiciary law.
(k) Notice and restoration as to damage and defacement due to vandalism. In the
event a monument is damaged or defaced by an act of vandalism, the cemetery
corporation shall, within thirty days of the discovery of such damage, notify the
owner, his distributee or the person filing an affidavit with such corporation pursu-
ant to the provisions of paragraph one of subdivision (e) of section fifteen hundred
twelve of this article of such damage in the manner provided in subdivision (h) of
this section. The cost and expense of such notice may be provided from the fund
where such fund exists. If a fund has been established, the cemetery corporation
shall restore the monument with moneys from such fund. If such a fund has not
been established or where such fund is inadequate to restore the monument,
the cemetery corporation may restore such monument at its own cost and ex-
pense. Nothing herein contained shall be construed as establishing any right of
damages not otherwise provided by law, rule or contract in any person against
the cemetery corporation for failure to restore any monument if no monument
maintenance fund exists or if such fund is inadequate to restore such monument.
(l) Removal of monument. No person or organization shall remove a monument
without authorization in the form of a court order from a court of competent
jurisdiction, or without the written authorization of the owner of a burial plot, or
the lineal descendants of the deceased, if such owner or lineal descendants are
known, and without obtaining written approval from a duly incorporated cemetery
association, which association shall keep a record of all such written approvals.
The provisions of this section shall not prohibit the removal, in accordance with
rules and regulations promulgated by the secretary of state, of a monument for
the purpose of repair, nonpayment or adding inscriptions as authorized by a
cemetery association or as permitted in this article. A violation of any provision
of this paragraph shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars.
(m) Use of construction and demolition debris for burial. No cemetery corporation
or religious corporation having charge and control of a cemetery which hereto-
fore has been or which hereafter may be used for burials, shall use construction
and demolition debris, as that term is defined in 6 NYCRR 360-1.2, for the purpose
of burying human remains.
(n) Interment of pet cremated remains. The interment of pet cremated remains
in a cemetery corporation shall be available to a lot owner only in those circum-
stances where the interment is incidental to the burial of human remains and
where authorization has been provided in a written statement from the cemetery
corporation. The cemetery corporation shall provide a list of approved charges
for the interment of such remains. All payments received for interment of such
remains shall be deposited in the cemetery corporation’s permanent maintenance
fund. Pet cremated remains must be disposed of by placing them in a grave, crypt,
or niche. Nothing in this section shall obligate a cemetery corporation to allow
interment of such cremated pet remains where prior approval at the time of sale
or in advance of need has not been received. The provisions of this section shall
not apply to an incorporated or unincorporated cemetery operated, supervised
or controlled by a religious corporation or a lot, plot or part thereof whose record
owner is an incorporated or unincorporated religious association or society.
§ 1510-a. Repair or removal of monuments:
(a) Cemetery corporations may repair or remove any monuments or other mark-
ers not owned by the cemetery corporation that have fallen into disrepair or
dilapidation so as to create a dangerous condition, provided that the cemetery
corporation has given not less than sixty days’ notice by registered or certified
mail to the last known owner at that person’s last known address to repair or
remove the monument or other marker and the said owner has failed to do so
within the time provided in said notice.
(b) In the event that the last known owner cannot be found, the notice may be
given by publishing the same once each week for three consecutive weeks in a
newspaper published or circulated in the county in which the cemetery is located.
Such notice shall be addressed to the last known owner and to all persons having
or claiming any interest in or to the burial lot on which the monument or other
marker is located. The notice shall date from the date of mailing such notice by
registered or certified mail, or the date of the third publication in the newspaper.
(c) Any monument or other marker that is removed as provided for in this sec-
tion shall be replaced with a flush bronze or granite marker suitably inscribed if
replacement is appropriate for identification purposes.
(d) Nothing contained herein shall be construed as establishing any right of dam-
ages not otherwise provided by law, rule or contract in any person against the
cemetery corporation for failure to repair or remedy any condition described or
give notice thereof as provided for in this section.
§ 1510-b. Availability for interment on six-day basis:
Every cemetery corporation shall be available for interments at least six days per
week, excluding legal holidays, as set forth in the cemetery’s regulations or in
accordance with its practices. Any cemetery which maintains and designates a
burial section for persons of a particular religious belief must remain available for
grave openings and interments Sunday through Friday or other six-day period in
accordance with the religious and/or ethnic traditions of the persons interred in
said religious section. Nothing in this section shall require a cemetery to provide
grave openings and/or interments if they are otherwise unable to do so as to
direct consequence of severe weather conditions or other similar conditions.
1512. Rights of lot owners:
(a) Lots; indivisible and inalienable. All lots, plots or parts thereof, the use of which
has been conveyed as a separate lot, shall be indivisible, except with the consent
of the lot owner or lot owners and the corporation, or as in this section provided.
After a burial therein, the same shall be inalienable, except as otherwise provided.
(b) Interest of deceased lot owner. Upon the death of an owner or co-owner
of any lot, plot or part thereof, unless the same shall be held in joint tenancy,
or tenancy by the entirety, the interest of the deceased lot owner shall pass to
the devises of such lot owner, but, if such interest be not effectually devised,
then to his or her descendants then surviving, and if there be none, then to the
surviving spouse, and if there be none, then to those entitled to take the real
and personal property of the deceased lot owner pursuant to article four of the
estates, powers and trust law provided, however, that no interest in any lot, plot
or part thereof shall pass by any residuary or other general clause in a will and
such interest shall pass by will only if the lot, plot or part thereof sought to be
devised is specifically referred to in such will. The surviving spouse of a deceased
lot owner during his or her life and the owners from time to time of the deceased
lot owner’s lot, plot or part thereof, shall have in common the possession, care
and control of such lot, plot or part thereof.
(c) Purchase for burial of decedent. Whenever a lot, plot or part thereof shall be
purchased by the executor, administrator or representative of a decedent from
estate funds for the burial of the decedent, the surviving spouse of the decedent
shall have the right of interment therein, and the deed shall run to the names of
the distributees, other than the surviving spouse, of the decedent, or to “The
distributees, other than the surviving spouse, of ........., deceased”, if there be
such surviving spouse, otherwise to “The distributees of............., deceased.” If
the deed shall run to “The distributees, other than the surviving spouse of .........,
deceased,” or to “The distributees of ........., deceased,” the executor, adminis-
trator or representative shall, at the time of delivery of the deed to such lot, plot
or part thereof, file with the corporation an affidavit setting forth the names and
places of residence of all the decedent’s distributees, and the corporation shall
be entitled to rely upon the truth of the statements contained in such affidavit.
(d) Right of interment. A deceased person shall have the right of interment in any
lot, plot or part thereof of which he or she was the owner or co-owner at the time
of his or her death, or in any tomb erected thereon. The surviving spouse shall have
the right of interment for his or her body in a lot or tomb in which the deceased
spouse was an owner or co-owner at the time of his or her death, except where
all the available burial spaces in a lot or tomb have been designated for the
interment of persons other than the surviving spouse, pursuant to subdivision (f)
of this section, and a right to have his or her body remain permanently interred or
entombed therein, except, that such body may be removed therefrom as provided
in subdivision (e) of section fifteen hundred ten of this article. Such right may be
enforced and protected by his or her personal representatives. The remains of a
spouse, parent or child of a person who is an owner or co-owner thereof may
be interred in such lot or tomb without the consent of any person claiming any
interest therein, subject, however, to the following rules and exceptions: (A) The
place of interment in such lot shall be subject to the reasonable determination
by a majority of the co-owners or in the absence of such determination by the
cemetery corporation or its officer or agent having immediate charge of inter-
ments. (B) Any husband or wife living separate from the other and owning a lot in
which the other, but for this section, would have no right of burial, at least thirty
days before the death of the other, may file with the cemetery corporation a writ-
ten objection to the interment of the other, and thereupon there shall be no right
of interment under this subdivision. (C) A parent or child owning a lot in which
the other would have no right of burial but for this section, at least thirty days
before the death of the other, may file with the cemetery corporation a written
objection to the interment of the other, and thereupon there shall be no right of
interment under this subdivision. In such case, if the parent or child so excluded
from burial in such lot shall die without having any place of interment, then the
person filing such objection shall at once provide for the other a suitable place
of burial in a convenient cemetery. The cost of such place of interment shall be
chargeable to the decedent’s estate, if any. (D) This section shall not permit a burial
in any ground or place contrary to or in violation of any precept, rule, regulation
or usage of any church or religious society, association or corporation restricting
burial therein. This subdivision shall not limit any existing right of burial under
other provisions of law, nor shall it limit or curtail the right of alienation, under the
rules of the cemetery corporation wherein such lot is situated, by the owner of a
lot before the death of the person for whose remains the right of burial is provided
herein, and there shall be no right of burial in any lot sold by its owner, before
the death of the person for whose remains the right of burial is provided herein.
(e) More than one person entitled to possession and control. (1) At any time when
more than one person is entitled to the possession, care and control of such lot,
any of the persons so entitled thereto may file with the corporation an affidavit
setting forth the names and places of residence of all the persons entitled to the
possession, care and control of such lot, and the corporation shall be entitled to
rely upon the truth of the statements contained in such affidavit. The corporation
shall be entitled to collect a reasonable fee for filing and recording such affidavit
and other documents filed in its office. (2) At any time when more than one per-
son is entitled to the possession, care or control of such lot, plot or part thereof,
the persons so entitled thereto shall file with the corporation a designation of a
person who shall represent the lot, plot or part thereof, and so long as they shall
fail to designate, the corporation may make such designation. A distributee may
release his or her interest in a lot, plot or part thereof, to the other distributees,
and a joint owner may release or devise to the other joint owners, his or her right
in the lot, plot or part thereof, on conditions specified in the release or will, the
original or certified copy of which shall be filed in the office of the corporation.
The surviving spouse not excluded from the right of burial under the provisions
of subdivision (d) of this section, at any time may release his or her right in such
lot, plot or part thereof, but no conveyance or devise by any other person shall
deprive him or her of such right.
(f) Designation of persons who may be interred. At any time all the owners of a
lot, and any surviving spouse having a right of interment therein, may execute,
acknowledge and file with the corporation an instrument, and the sole owner of
a lot may, in a testamentary instrument admitted to probate, make a provision,
which may (A) designate the person or persons or class of persons who may
thereafter be interred in said lot or in a tomb in such lot and the places of their
interment; (B) direct that upon the interment of certain named persons, the lot or
tomb in such lot shall be closed to further interments; (C) direct that the title of the
lot shall upon the death of any one or more of the owners, descend in perpetuity
to his, her or their distributees, unaffected by any devise. In any case in which
an irrevocable designation of a person, persons or class of persons who may
be interred in any lot or tomb has been made pursuant to this subdivision and in
which the designated person or persons, or all of the known class of designated
persons, have died and have not been buried in the places designated in said lot
or tomb, or have by a written instrument duly signed and acknowledged and filed
with the corporation, renounced the right of interment pursuant to such designa-
tion, then, and in any such event, the then owner or owners of said lot or tomb
and any surviving spouse having the right of interment therein, may designate
another person or persons or class of persons who may thereafter be interred
in said lot or in a tomb in said lot, and the places of their interment, unless the
original designation clearly indicated not only that it was irrevocable, but also
that no further designations were to be made. Any designation provided for by this
subdivision except a designation by testamentary instrument, shall be deemed
revocable unless such instrument provides otherwise. In the event an owner or
co-owner of a lot is under the age of eighteen years, any designation provided
for by this subdivision, except a designation by testamentary instrument, may be
executed and acknowledged by the parent or general or testamentary guardian
for and on behalf of such owner or co-owner, provided, however, that no such
designation may be made unless a place of interment shall remain available in
said lot or in a tomb in such lot for the interment of each owner or co-owner of
the lot under the age of eighteen years, and any designation so made may be
revoked by the owner or co-owner upon reaching the age of eighteen years
except with respect to burials effected before that time. A designation made by
a parent or guardian on behalf of an infant owner or co-owner who is over the
age of fourteen years must contain the written consent of such infant owner
or co-owner.
(g) Lot owner voting. Each owner of full age of a lot in the cemetery of the cor-
poration, as shown in the records of the cemetery at the time of the purchase of
the lot from the corporation, or if there be two or more owners, then one of them
designated in writing by a majority of them, may cast, in person or by proxy, one
vote at meetings of the corporation in respect to each such lot so owned. At such
meetings, each owner of a certificate of stock heretofore lawfully issued shall
be entitled to one vote for each share of stock owned by him and each owner of
a certificate of indebtedness shall be entitled to one vote for each one hundred
dollars of such indebtedness remaining unpaid. No lot owner shall be entitled to
vote unless all assessments against the lot of such owner shall have been paid.
A quorum for the transaction of business, unless the certificate of incorporation
or by-laws otherwise provide, shall be five members entitled to vote at the meet-
ing. In the event a lot owner has executed a proxy which has been in effect for
five or more years, the cemetery corporation shall not honor such proxy unless
it is presented with proof that the lot owner has been sent a written notice at
the address listed in the records of the corporation at least thirty days prior to
the meeting at which the proxy is to be exercised advising the lot owner that the
proxy is still effective. The notice shall identify the date, time and place of such
meeting, and the name of the person holding the proxy and shall state that it may,
unless the proxy provides otherwise, be terminated at any time. Such notice need
not be mailed more frequently than every fifth year.
(h) Plots owned by religious corporations, unincorporated associations, or other
entities that provide burial benefits for its members. With respect to any lot, plot
or part thereof owned by a membership or religious corporation or unincorpo-
rated association or other entity that provides burial benefits for its members,
and requires the cemetery to obtain a burial authorization from the membership,
religious corporation, unincorporated association, or other entity, the following
rules shall apply:
(1) If a cemetery receives a request to bury an individual who was a member of
a membership, religious corporation, unincorporated association, or other entity
that owns the lot, plot or part thereof in which the burial would be made, and
despite reasonable efforts on the part of the family of the deceased, the funeral
home, and/or the cemetery, no representative of the membership, religious
corporation, unincorporated association, or other entity that owns the lot, plot or
part thereof in which the burial would be made can be located to authorize the
burial, the cemetery may, at its discretion, proceed with the interment provided
that documentary evidence indicating a specific grave reservation in the lot, plot
or part thereof, for the deceased individual is provided to the cemetery and further
that the cemetery has recorded such reservation on its books and in its records;
(2) If the decedent is within the first degree of consanguinity to an individual
already interred in the lot, plot or part thereof, or the spouse of the decedent is
already interred in the lot, plot or part thereof, the cemetery may, at its discre-
tion, proceed with the interment, provided some form of documentary evidence
is provided to the cemetery as to the decedent’s right of burial in the lot, plot
or part thereof; (3) The right of memorialization shall, under the circumstances
described in this paragraph, pass to the person with the right of possession
of the body at the time of burial; and (4) Neither the cemetery nor the funeral
director shall be liable for any claims, in law or equity, relating to the failure to
obtain authorization from the membership, religious corporation, unincorporated
association, or other entity for the use of the plot, lot, or portion thereof provided
that the requirements of this paragraph have been met.