§ 1513-A — Reacquisition of a lot, plot or part thereof by a cemetery corporation

§ 1513-a. Reacquisition of a lot, plot or part thereof by a cemetery\n corporation.\n A cemetery corporation may, upon application and approval by the\ncemetery board, reacquire, resubdivide, and resell a lot, plot or part\nthereof under the following circumstances:\n (a)(i) If the records of the corporation demonstrate that the lot,\nplot or part thereof was purchased more than seventy-five years prior to\nthe application of the corporation; and (ii) if no burials have been\nmade in the lot, plot or part thereof or all the bodies therein have\nbeen lawfully removed; and (iii) if neither the owner or owners of the\nlot, plot or part thereof nor any person having a credible claim to\nownership who has visited, made payments in respect of or engaged in any\nother proprietary activities with respect to the lot, plot or part\nthereof can be identified after a reasonable search conducted by the\ncemetery corporation, it shall be conclusively presumed that the owner\nor owners of the lot, plot or part thereof have abandoned their burial\nrights. A reasonable search consists of a search of: (1) all cemetery\nrecords to determine the name of the owner or owners of the lot, plot or\npart thereof, their last known addresses and all information available\nto the cemetery relating to any person buried in the lot, plot or part\nthereof and the names and last known addresses of any persons making\ninquiry about or visiting the lot, plot or part thereof; (2) a search\nfor the death certificates and the probated wills of the owner or owners\nof the lot, plot or part thereof; (3) the posting of notice by the\ncemetery at the entrance to the cemetery and in the cemetery office, if\nany, of its intention to declare the lot, plot or part thereof\nabandoned; (4) the mailing of such notice certified mail with return\nreceipt requested to the owner or owners of the lot, plot or part\nthereof and each person identified during the reasonable search at their\nlast known addresses; (5) publication of such notice once in each week\nfor three successive weeks, in two newspapers of regular commercial\ncirculation by subscription and/or newsstand sale, to be designated by\nthe county clerk of the county where the cemetery is located which in\nhis or her judgement, given the ethnic, religious, geographic or other\nrelated demographic characteristics of the owner or owners of the lot,\nplot or part thereof and each person identified through the reasonable\nsearch and the predominant readership of such newspapers are best\ncalculated to inform the owner or owners of the lot, plot or part\nthereof and each person identified through the reasonable search of any\napplication pursuant to the provisions of this section; and (6) the\npreparation of an affidavit describing the steps taken by the cemetery\ncorporation to ascertain the identity of and to contact the current\nowner or owners of the lot, plot or part thereof or next-of-kin thereof\nor any other persons identified in the course of the reasonable search\nwho might have relevant information and the results of such steps. After\nthe filing with the cemetery board of proof of compliance with the above\nrequirements in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to such board\nand upon approval by the cemetery board, the lot, plot or part thereof\nmay be resold by the cemetery to any party in compliance with the\ncemetery rules and regulations provided, however, that any monument\nsubsequently placed on such lot, plot or part thereof shall conform to\nthe general appearance of any existing monuments in said section of\nlots, plots or parts thereof, if any.\n (b) If (i) the circumstances described in paragraph (a) of this\nsection exist except that one or more burials have been made in a lot,\nand the last burial was made more than seventy-five years prior to the\napplication, (ii) the lot, plot or part thereof can be subdivided to\ncreate new graves, (iii) the bodies have not been lawfully removed, and\n(iv) the cemetery submits an application to the cemetery board which\ncomplies with the requirements set forth in paragraph (a) of this\nsection, it shall be conclusively presumed that the lot owner has\nabandoned the right to make further burials in the lot, the lot may be\nsubdivided, and the resubdivided lot, plot or parts thereof which do not\ncontain the remains of the deceased persons may be resold by the\ncemetery corporation as provided in this section. Nothing in this\nsection shall permit a cemetery corporation to declare abandoned a lot,\nplot or part thereof, where such lot, plot or part thereof was purchased\nfor multiple depth burials and where one or more burials has occurred or\nauthorized a cemetery corporation to remove a monument or other\nembellishment to facilitate the resale of such lot, plot or part\nthereof, except as provided by section fifteen hundred ten of this\narticle.\n (c) If the owner or owners of a lot, plot or part thereof can be\nidentified, the cemetery corporation, with the consent of the owner or\nowners of the lot, plot or part thereof, the lot, plot or part thereof\nmay be resubdivided, and the resubdivided lot, plot or part thereof\nwhich does not contain the remains of deceased persons may be resold by\nthe cemetery corporation, provided, however, if no burial has been made\nin the lot, plot or part thereof, in the twenty-five year period\npreceding such application, the owner of a lot, plot or part thereof has\nnotified his or her parents, spouse, issue, brothers, sisters,\ngrandparents, and grandchildren, if any, of the application to the\ncemetery board, and provided further, however, if a burial has been made\nin this lot, plot or part thereof during such twenty-five year period,\nthe spouse and issue of such deceased person are also notified, and\nprovided further, in either case the owner of the lot, plot or part\nthereof satisfies the cemetery board that none of the persons notified\nhave agreed within forty-five days of notification to purchase the lot,\nplot or part thereof at the price provided under paragraph (c) of\nsection fifteen hundred thirteen of this article.\n (d) Upon the sale of a lot, plot or part thereof reacquired by the\ncorporation under the provisions of paragraph (a), (b), or (c) of this\nsection, thirty-five percent of the net proceeds shall be placed in the\npermanent maintenance fund and sixty-five percent shall be placed in the\ncurrent maintenance fund. Provided, however, that if their property was\nreacquired under paragraph (i) of this section, thirty-five percent of\nthe net proceeds shall be placed in the permanent maintenance fund,\nfifty percent shall be placed in the current maintenance fund and\nfifteen percent shall be placed in a perpetual care fund which the\ncemetery shall establish in the name of the defunct society for the\nexclusive purpose of maintenance of the grounds on which the graves were\nreacquired.\n (e) If the owner of the lot, plot or part thereof is subsequently\nidentified, the cemetery corporation shall: (i) return all unsold lots,\nplots or parts thereof if any, to the owner if so requested; and (ii)\nwith respect to any lots, plots or parts thereof that have been sold\npursuant to this section, at the option of the owner of the lot, plot or\npart thereof; either (1) provide the owner, at no cost to the owner,\nwith a lot, plot or part thereof comparable to any lot, plot or part\nthereof that was sold by the cemetery corporation or (2) provide the\nowner with the proceeds from the sale of the lot, plot or part thereof\nreacquired under this section with interest thereon from the date of the\nsale at six percent per annum.\n (f) The provisions of this section shall not apply to a lot, plot or\npart thereof whose record owner is a religious burial society.\n (g) The provisions of this section shall not violate the burial\nrequirements of sectarian sections of cemetery corporations.\n (h) Monuments to be erected on a lot, plot or parts thereof, following\nthe resale of a lot, plot or part thereof, shall conform to the rules\nand regulations or other requirements of the cemetery corporation and\nshall conform to the size, style and type of monuments in the section of\nthe cemetery where such resale occurs.\n (i) A cemetery corporation may, upon application and approval by the\ncemetery board, reacquire, resubdivide, and resell a lot, plot or part\nthereof formerly owned by a nonsectarian burial society under the\nfollowing circumstances:\n (1) If the cemetery corporation has received a request to make a\nburial on the grounds of a nonsectarian burial society and the\nprovisions of paragraph (h) of section fifteen hundred twelve of this\narticle had to be invoked to make the burial then the cemetery\ncorporation may, at its discretion, commence the process of reacquiring\nthe unused graves on the grounds of the nonsectarian burial society,\nexcept that any graves that have been reserved for individuals where\nsuch reservations have been recorded on the books and records of the\ncemetery corporation shall be exempt from reclamation; or\n (2) If routine mailings or proxy mailings are sent to the officers of\nrecord of a nonsectarian burial society and such mailings are returned\nby the post office, the cemetery corporation may, at its discretion,\nmake a second mailing by certified mail return receipt requested to each\nofficer of record of the nonsectarian burial society as recorded on the\ncemetery's books and records and, if each of these mailings is returned\nby the post office, the cemetery corporation may, at its discretion,\ncommence the process of reacquiring the unused graves on the grounds of\nthe nonsectarian burial society, except that any graves that have been\nreserved for individuals where such reservations have been recorded on\nthe books and records of the cemetery corporation shall be exempt from\nreacquisition.\n (j) If a cemetery corporation has decided to commence the process of\nreacquiring graves owned by a nonsectarian burial society it shall:\n (1) send by certified mail return receipt requested to each individual\nwho has engaged in proprietary activities in connection with graves on\nthe grounds of a nonsectarian burial society, seeking the names and\naddresses of any current officers of the nonsectarian burial society and\ninforming those individuals of the cemetery corporation's intentions of\nreacquiring the unused graves on the grounds of the nonsectarian burial\nsociety;\n (2) send by certified mail return receipt requested to each individual\nwho has a grave reserved or deeded to them a letter seeking the names\nand addresses of any current officers of the nonsectarian burial society\nand informing such individuals of the cemetery corporation's intentions\nor reacquiring the unused graves on the grounds of the nonsectarian\nburial society;\n (3) post a notice as provided in clause three of subparagraph (iii) of\nparagraph (a) of this section;\n (4) publish a notice as provided in clause five of subparagraph (iii)\nof paragraph (a) of this section;\n (5) prepare and submit an affidavit as provided in clause six of\nsubparagraph (iii) of paragraph (a) of this section; and\n (6) upon the sale of any grave or graves on the grounds of the\nnonsectarian burial society which have been reacquired by the cemetery\ncorporation, the cemetery corporation shall distribute the net proceeds\nof the sale as provided in paragraph (d) of this section.\n (k) The cemetery corporation shall delay the sale of ten percent of\nthe graves it reacquires from the nonsectarian burial society for twenty\nyears as a reserve in the event an individual or individuals are\nidentified who have a valid claim for burial on the grounds of the\nnonsectarian burial society.\n (l) At the time the graves that have been reacquired by a cemetery\ncorporation from a nonsectarian burial society are sold, the contract of\nsale shall contain a clause in bold type which specifies that the\nmonuments to be erected on such lot, plot or part thereof, shall conform\nto the size, style and type of monuments in the section of the cemetery\nwhere such graves are located.\n