US Laws, Codes, Statutes & Cases

 
  §  1513-a.  Reacquisition  of  a lot, plot or part thereof by a cemetery
               corporation.
    A cemetery corporation may,  upon  application  and  approval  by  the
  cemetery  board,  reacquire, resubdivide, and resell a lot, plot or part
  thereof under the following circumstances:
    (a)(i) If the records of the corporation  demonstrate  that  the  lot,
  plot or part thereof was purchased more than seventy-five years prior to
  the  application  of  the  corporation; and (ii) if no burials have been
  made in the lot, plot or part thereof or all  the  bodies  therein  have
  been  lawfully  removed; and (iii) if neither the owner or owners of the
  lot, plot or part thereof nor any person  having  a  credible  claim  to
  ownership who has visited, made payments in respect of or engaged in any
  other  proprietary  activities  with  respect  to  the lot, plot or part
  thereof can be identified after a reasonable  search  conducted  by  the
  cemetery  corporation,  it shall be conclusively presumed that the owner
  or owners of the lot, plot or part thereof have abandoned  their  burial
  rights.  A  reasonable  search consists of a search of: (1) all cemetery
  records to determine the name of the owner or owners of the lot, plot or
  part thereof, their last known addresses and all  information  available
  to  the  cemetery relating to any person buried in the lot, plot or part
  thereof and the names and last known addresses  of  any  persons  making
  inquiry  about  or  visiting the lot, plot or part thereof; (2) a search
  for the death certificates and the probated wills of the owner or owners
  of the lot, plot or part thereof; (3)  the  posting  of  notice  by  the
  cemetery  at the entrance to the cemetery and in the cemetery office, if
  any, of  its  intention  to  declare  the  lot,  plot  or  part  thereof
  abandoned;  (4)  the  mailing  of such notice certified mail with return
  receipt requested to the owner or  owners  of  the  lot,  plot  or  part
  thereof and each person identified during the reasonable search at their
  last  known  addresses; (5) publication of such notice once in each week
  for three successive weeks, in  two  newspapers  of  regular  commercial
  circulation  by  subscription and/or newsstand sale, to be designated by
  the county clerk of the county where the cemetery is  located  which  in
  his  or  her judgement, given the ethnic, religious, geographic or other
  related demographic characteristics of the owner or owners of  the  lot,
  plot  or  part thereof and each person identified through the reasonable
  search and the  predominant  readership  of  such  newspapers  are  best
  calculated  to  inform  the  owner  or  owners  of the lot, plot or part
  thereof and each person identified through the reasonable search of  any
  application  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of this section; and (6) the
  preparation of an affidavit describing the steps taken by  the  cemetery
  corporation  to  ascertain  the  identity  of and to contact the current
  owner or owners of the lot, plot or part thereof or next-of-kin  thereof
  or  any  other persons identified in the course of the reasonable search
  who might have relevant information and the results of such steps. After
  the filing with the cemetery board of proof of compliance with the above
  requirements in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to such board
  and upon approval by the cemetery board, the lot, plot or  part  thereof
  may  be  resold  by  the  cemetery  to  any party in compliance with the
  cemetery rules and regulations  provided,  however,  that  any  monument
  subsequently  placed  on such lot, plot or part thereof shall conform to
  the general appearance of any existing  monuments  in  said  section  of
  lots, plots or parts thereof, if any.
    (b)  If  (i)  the  circumstances  described  in  paragraph (a) of this
  section exist except that one or more burials have been made in  a  lot,
  and  the  last burial was made more than seventy-five years prior to the
  application, (ii) the lot, plot or part thereof  can  be  subdivided  to
  create  new graves, (iii) the bodies have not been lawfully removed, and
  (iv) the cemetery submits an application to  the  cemetery  board  which
  complies  with  the  requirements  set  forth  in  paragraph (a) of this
  section, it shall be  conclusively  presumed  that  the  lot  owner  has
  abandoned  the  right to make further burials in the lot, the lot may be
  subdivided, and the resubdivided lot, plot or parts thereof which do not
  contain the remains of  the  deceased  persons  may  be  resold  by  the
  cemetery  corporation  as  provided  in  this  section.  Nothing in this
  section shall permit a cemetery corporation to declare abandoned a  lot,
  plot or part thereof, where such lot, plot or part thereof was purchased
  for multiple depth burials and where one or more burials has occurred or
  authorized  a  cemetery  corporation  to  remove  a  monument  or  other
  embellishment to facilitate  the  resale  of  such  lot,  plot  or  part
  thereof,  except  as  provided  by  section  fifteen hundred ten of this
  article.
    (c) If the owner or owners of a lot,  plot  or  part  thereof  can  be
  identified,  the  cemetery corporation, with the consent of the owner or
  owners of the lot, plot or part thereof, the lot, plot or  part  thereof
  may  be  resubdivided,  and  the  resubdivided lot, plot or part thereof
  which does not contain the remains of deceased persons may be resold  by
  the  cemetery corporation, provided, however, if no burial has been made
  in the lot, plot  or  part  thereof,  in  the  twenty-five  year  period
  preceding such application, the owner of a lot, plot or part thereof has
  notified   his   or  her  parents,  spouse,  issue,  brothers,  sisters,
  grandparents, and grandchildren, if  any,  of  the  application  to  the
  cemetery board, and provided further, however, if a burial has been made
  in  this  lot, plot or part thereof during such twenty-five year period,
  the spouse and issue of such deceased  person  are  also  notified,  and
  provided  further,  in  either  case  the owner of the lot, plot or part
  thereof satisfies the cemetery board that none of the  persons  notified
  have  agreed within forty-five days of notification to purchase the lot,
  plot or part thereof at  the  price  provided  under  paragraph  (c)  of
  section fifteen hundred thirteen of this article.
    (d)  Upon  the  sale  of a lot, plot or part thereof reacquired by the
  corporation under the provisions of paragraph (a), (b), or (c)  of  this
  section,  thirty-five percent of the net proceeds shall be placed in the
  permanent maintenance fund and sixty-five percent shall be placed in the
  current maintenance fund.
    (e) If the owner of the lot, plot  or  part  thereof  is  subsequently
  identified,  the cemetery corporation shall: (i) return all unsold lots,
  plots or parts thereof if any, to the owner if so  requested;  and  (ii)
  with  respect  to  any  lots, plots or parts thereof that have been sold
  pursuant to this section, at the option of the owner of the lot, plot or
  part thereof; either (1) provide the owner, at no  cost  to  the  owner,
  with  a  lot,  plot  or part thereof comparable to any lot, plot or part
  thereof that was sold by the cemetery corporation  or  (2)  provide  the
  owner  with  the proceeds from the sale of the lot, plot or part thereof
  reacquired under this section with interest thereon from the date of the
  sale at six percent per annum.
    (f) The provisions of this section shall not apply to a lot,  plot  or
  part  thereof  whose  record  owner  is  a corporation or unincorporated
  association or  society  having  among  its  activities  or  its  former
  activities the provision of burial benefits for its members.
    (g)  The  provisions  of  this  section  shall  not violate the burial
  requirements of sectarian sections of cemetery corporations.
    (h) Monuments to be erected on a lot, plot or parts thereof, following
  the resale of a lot, plot or part thereof, shall conform  to  the  rules
  and  regulations  or  other requirements of the cemetery corporation and
  shall conform to the size, style and type of monuments in the section of
  the cemetery where such resale occurs.