§ 1512 — Rights of lot owners

§ 1512. Rights of lot owners.\n (a) Lots; indivisible and inalienable. All lots, plots or parts\nthereof, the use of which has been conveyed as a separate lot, shall be\nindivisible, except with the consent of the lot owner or lot owners and\nthe corporation, or as in this section provided. After a burial therein,\nthe same shall be inalienable, except as otherwise provided.\n (b) Interest of deceased lot owner. Upon the death of an owner or\nco-owner of any lot, plot or part thereof, unless the same shall be held\nin joint tenancy, or tenancy by the entirety, the interest of the\ndeceased lot owner shall pass to the devises of such lot owner, but, if\nsuch interest be not effectually devised, then to his or her descendants\nthen surviving, and if there be none, then to the surviving spouse, and\nif there be none, then to those entitled to take the real and personal\nproperty of the deceased lot owner pursuant to article four of the\nestates, powers and trust law provided, however, that no interest in any\nlot, plot or part thereof shall pass by any residuary or other general\nclause in a will and such interest shall pass by will only if the lot,\nplot or part thereof sought to be devised is specifically referred to in\nsuch will. The surviving spouse of a deceased lot owner during his or\nher life and the owners from time to time of the deceased lot owner's\nlot, plot or part thereof, shall have in common the possession, care and\ncontrol of such lot, plot or part thereof.\n (c) Purchase for burial of decedent. Whenever a lot, plot or part\nthereof shall be purchased by the executor, administrator or\nrepresentative of a decedent from estate funds for the burial of the\ndecedent, the surviving spouse of the decedent shall have the right of\ninterment therein, and the deed shall run to the names of the\ndistributees, other than the surviving spouse, of the decedent, or to\n"The distributees, other than the surviving spouse, of .........,\ndeceased", if there be such surviving spouse, otherwise to "The\ndistributees of............., deceased." If the deed shall run to "The\ndistributees, other than the surviving spouse of ........., deceased,"\nor to "The distributees of ........., deceased," the executor,\nadministrator or representative shall, at the time of delivery of the\ndeed to such lot, plot or part thereof, file with the corporation an\naffidavit setting forth the names and places of residence of all the\ndecedent's distributees, and the corporation shall be entitled to rely\nupon the truth of the statements contained in such affidavit.\n (d) Right of interment. A deceased person shall have the right of\ninterment in any lot, plot or part thereof of which he or she was the\nowner or co-owner at the time of his or her death, or in any tomb\nerected thereon. The surviving spouse shall have the right of interment\nfor his or her body in a lot or tomb in which the deceased spouse was an\nowner or co-owner at the time of his or her death, except where all the\navailable burial spaces in a lot or tomb have been designated for the\ninterment of persons other than the surviving spouse, pursuant to\nsubdivision (f) of this section, and a right to have his or her body\nremain permanently interred or entombed therein, except, that such body\nmay be removed therefrom as provided in subdivision (e) of section\nfifteen hundred ten of this article. Such right may be enforced and\nprotected by his or her personal representatives. The remains of a\nspouse, parent or child of a person who is an owner or co-owner thereof\nmay be interred in such lot or tomb without the consent of any person\nclaiming any interest therein, subject, however, to the following rules\nand exceptions: (A) The place of interment in such lot shall be subject\nto the reasonable determination by a majority of the co-owners or in the\nabsence of such determination by the cemetery corporation or its officer\nor agent having immediate charge of interments. (B) Any husband or wife\nliving separate from the other and owning a lot in which the other, but\nfor this section, would have no right of burial, at least thirty days\nbefore the death of the other, may file with the cemetery corporation a\nwritten objection to the interment of the other, and thereupon there\nshall be no right of interment under this subdivision. (C) A parent or\nchild owning a lot in which the other would have no right of burial but\nfor this section, at least thirty days before the death of the other,\nmay file with the cemetery corporation a written objection to the\ninterment of the other, and thereupon there shall be no right of\ninterment under this subdivision. In such case, if the parent or child\nso excluded from burial in such lot shall die without having any place\nof interment, then the person filing such objection shall at once\nprovide for the other a suitable place of burial in a convenient\ncemetery. The cost of such place of interment shall be chargeable to the\ndecedent's estate, if any. (D) This section shall not permit a burial in\nany ground or place contrary to or in violation of any precept, rule,\nregulation or usage of any church or religious society, association or\ncorporation restricting burial therein. This subdivision shall not limit\nany existing right of burial under other provisions of law, nor shall it\nlimit or curtail the right of alienation, under the rules of the\ncemetery corporation wherein such lot is situated, by the owner of a lot\nbefore the death of the person for whose remains the right of burial is\nprovided herein, and there shall be no right of burial in any lot sold\nby its owner, before the death of the person for whose remains the right\nof burial is provided herein.\n (e) More than one person entitled to possession and control. (1) At\nany time when more than one person is entitled to the possession, care\nand control of such lot, any of the persons so entitled thereto may file\nwith the corporation an affidavit setting forth the names and places of\nresidence of all the persons entitled to the possession, care and\ncontrol of such lot, and the corporation shall be entitled to rely upon\nthe truth of the statements contained in such affidavit. The corporation\nshall be entitled to collect a reasonable fee for filing and recording\nsuch affidavit and other documents filed in its office. (2) At any time\nwhen more than one person is entitled to the possession, care or control\nof such lot, plot or part thereof, the persons so entitled thereto shall\nfile with the corporation a designation of a person who shall represent\nthe lot, plot or part thereof, and so long as they shall fail to\ndesignate, the corporation may make such designation. A distributee may\nrelease his or her interest in a lot, plot or part thereof, to the other\ndistributees, and a joint owner may release or devise to the other joint\nowners, his or her right in the lot, plot or part thereof, on conditions\nspecified in the release or will, the original or certified copy of\nwhich shall be filed in the office of the corporation. The surviving\nspouse not excluded from the right of burial under the provisions of\nsubdivision (d) of this section, at any time may release his or her\nright in such lot, plot or part thereof, but no conveyance or devise by\nany other person shall deprive him or her of such right.\n (f) Designation of persons who may be interred. At any time all the\nowners of a lot, and any surviving spouse having a right of interment\ntherein, may execute, acknowledge and file with the corporation an\ninstrument, and the sole owner of a lot may, in a testamentary\ninstrument admitted to probate, make a provision, which may (A)\ndesignate the person or persons or class of persons who may thereafter\nbe interred in said lot or in a tomb in such lot and the places of their\ninterment; (B) direct that upon the interment of certain named persons,\nthe lot or tomb in such lot shall be closed to further interments; (C)\ndirect that the title of the lot shall upon the death of any one or more\nof the owners, descend in perpetuity to his, her or their distributees,\nunaffected by any devise. In any case in which an irrevocable\ndesignation of a person, persons or class of persons who may be interred\nin any lot or tomb has been made pursuant to this subdivision and in\nwhich the designated person or persons, or all of the known class of\ndesignated persons, have died and have not been buried in the places\ndesignated in said lot or tomb, or have by a written instrument duly\nsigned and acknowledged and filed with the corporation, renounced the\nright of interment pursuant to such designation, then, and in any such\nevent, the then owner or owners of said lot or tomb and any surviving\nspouse having the right of interment therein, may designate another\nperson or persons or class of persons who may thereafter be interred in\nsaid lot or in a tomb in said lot, and the places of their interment,\nunless the original designation clearly indicated not only that it was\nirrevocable, but also that no further designations were to be made. Any\ndesignation provided for by this subdivision except a designation by\ntestamentary instrument, shall be deemed revocable unless such\ninstrument provides otherwise. In the event an owner or co-owner of a\nlot is under the age of eighteen years, any designation provided for by\nthis subdivision, except a designation by testamentary instrument, may\nbe executed and acknowledged by the parent or general or testamentary\nguardian for and on behalf of such owner or co-owner, provided, however,\nthat no such designation may be made unless a place of interment shall\nremain available in said lot or in a tomb in such lot for the interment\nof each owner or co-owner of the lot under the age of eighteen years,\nand any designation so made may be revoked by the owner or co-owner upon\nreaching the age of eighteen years except with respect to burials\neffected before that time. A designation made by a parent or guardian on\nbehalf of an infant owner or co-owner who is over the age of fourteen\nyears must contain the written consent of such infant owner or co-owner.\n (g) Lot owner voting. Each owner of full age of a lot in the cemetery\nof the corporation, as shown in the records of the cemetery at the time\nof the purchase of the lot from the corporation, or if there be two or\nmore owners, then one of them designated in writing by a majority of\nthem, may cast, in person or by proxy, one vote at meetings of the\ncorporation in respect to each such lot so owned. At such meetings, each\nowner of a certificate of stock heretofore lawfully issued shall be\nentitled to one vote for each share of stock owned by him and each owner\nof a certificate of indebtedness shall be entitled to one vote for each\none hundred dollars of such indebtedness remaining unpaid. No lot owner\nshall be entitled to vote unless all assessments against the lot of such\nowner shall have been paid. A quorum for the transaction of business,\nunless the certificate of incorporation or by-laws otherwise provide,\nshall be five members entitled to vote at the meeting. In the event a\nlot owner has executed a proxy which has been in effect for five or more\nyears, the cemetery corporation shall not honor such proxy unless it is\npresented with proof that the lot owner has been sent a written notice\nat the address listed in the records of the corporation at least thirty\ndays prior to the meeting at which the proxy is to be exercised advising\nthe lot owner that the proxy is still effective. The notice shall\nidentify the date, time and place of such meeting, and the name of the\nperson holding the proxy and shall state that it may, unless the proxy\nprovides otherwise, be terminated at any time. Such notice need not be\nmailed more frequently than every fifth year.\n (h) Plots owned by religious corporations, unincorporated\nassociations, or other entities that provide burial benefits for its\nmembers. With respect to any lot, plot or part thereof owned by a\nmembership or religious corporation or unincorporated association or\nother entity that provides burial benefits for its members, and requires\nthe cemetery to obtain a burial authorization from the membership,\nreligious corporation, unincorporated association, or other entity, the\nfollowing rules shall apply:\n (1) If a cemetery receives a request to bury an individual who was a\nmember of a membership, religious corporation, unincorporated\nassociation, or other entity that owns the lot, plot or part thereof in\nwhich the burial would be made, and despite reasonable efforts on the\npart of the family of the deceased, the funeral home, and/or the\ncemetery, no representative of the membership, religious corporation,\nunincorporated association, or other entity that owns the lot, plot or\npart thereof in which the burial would be made can be located to\nauthorize the burial, the cemetery may, at its discretion, proceed with\nthe interment provided that documentary evidence indicating a specific\ngrave reservation in the lot, plot or part thereof, for the deceased\nindividual is provided to the cemetery and further that the cemetery has\nrecorded such reservation on its books and in its records;\n (2) If the decedent is within the first degree of consanguinity to an\nindividual already interred in the lot, plot or part thereof, or the\nspouse of the decedent is already interred in the lot, plot or part\nthereof, the cemetery may, at its discretion, proceed with the\ninterment, provided some form of documentary evidence is provided to the\ncemetery as to the decedent's right of burial in the lot, plot or part\nthereof;\n (3) The right of memorialization shall, under the circumstances\ndescribed in this paragraph, pass to the person with the right of\npossession of the body at the time of burial; and\n (4) Neither the cemetery nor the funeral director shall be liable for\nany claims, in law or equity, relating to the failure to obtain\nauthorization from the membership, religious corporation, unincorporated\nassociation, or other entity for the use of the plot, lot, or portion\nthereof provided that the requirements of this paragraph have been met.\n