An Act To Clarify the Ownership of and Access to Ancient and Family Burying Grounds
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 1328
Committee: State and Local Government
Sponsors: CUSHING, TEPLER, COLLINS, HAMPER, KATZ, MASON, CHENETTE, GOLDEN, MARTIN, TURNER
Amends: 13 MRSA §1101-A, 13 MRSA §1101-B, 13 MRSA §1141, 13 MRSA §1142

Legislative Document 
No. 1328 
S.P. 480 
In Senate, April 14, 2015 
An Act To Clarify the Ownership of and Access to Ancient and 
Family Burying Grounds 
Reference to the Committee on State and Local Government suggested and ordered printed. 
HEATHER J.R. PRIEST 
Secretary of the Senate 
Presented by Senator CUSHING of Penobscot. 
Cosponsored by Representative TEPLER of Topsham and 
Senators: COLLINS of York, HAMPER of Oxford, KATZ of Kennebec, MASON of 
Androscoggin, Representatives: CHENETTE of Saco, GOLDEN of Lewiston, MARTIN of 
Sinclair, TURNER of Burlington. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  13 MRSA §1101-A, sub-§3-A is enacted to read: 
3-A.  Ground-penetrating radar.  "Ground-penetrating radar" means the 
transmission of high-frequency radar pulses from a surface antenna into the ground, 
which reflects signals that are detected by a radar receiver and used to image the 
subsurface. 
Sec. 2.  13 MRSA §1101-B, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2013, c. 421, §2, is 
further amended to read: 
1.  Access to ancient burying ground on privately owned land by a municipality 
or its designated caretaker.  The owner of A person who owns a parcel of land that 
contains an ancient burying ground shall provide a municipality or its caretaker 
designated pursuant to section 1101 access necessary to perform the duties pursuant to 
section 1101 and Title 30-A, section 2901.  A municipality or its designated caretaker 
may access an ancient burying ground on privately owned land annually or as determined 
by the municipality or designated caretaker as necessary to protect and preserve the 
ancient burying ground through activities including, but not limited to, the use of 
photography, video recordings, geographic positioning systems and transcription of grave 
marker inscriptions to document condition and preserve historic information.  A 
municipality or its designated caretaker may determine the location of unmarked graves 
and cemetery boundaries through the use of ground-penetrating radar or other 
identification techniques.  Any unreasonable denial to provide access may result in the 
owner being held responsible for any fines, court costs and attorney's fees incurred by 
municipalities in legally obtaining access or for failing to meet the requirements of 
section 1101. 
Sec. 3.  13 MRSA §1101-B, sub-§1-A is enacted to read: 
1-A.  Access to ancient burying ground on privately owned land by descendant 
or relative of person buried in an ancient burying ground.  A person who owns a 
parcel of land that contains an ancient burying ground shall provide a descendant or 
relative of a person buried in the ancient burying ground, or the designated agent of the 
descendant or relative, access to the ancient burying ground to protect and preserve the 
ancient burying ground through activities including, but not limited to, the use of 
photography, video recordings, geographic positioning systems and transcription of grave 
marker inscriptions to document condition and preserve historic information.  A 
descendant or relative of a person buried in an ancient burying ground or the designated 
agent of the descendant or relative may, at the expense of the descendant, relative or 
designated agent, determine the location of unmarked graves and cemetery boundaries 
through the use of ground-penetrating radar or other identification techniques and may 
erect or repair fencing around the ancient burying ground or repair any gravestone within 
the ancient burying ground.  The municipal clerk of the municipality where the ancient 
burying ground is situated shall notarize a document whereby a person who owns a parcel 
of land that contains an ancient burying ground allows access to that burying ground to a 
descendant or relative of a person buried in the ancient burying ground or the designated 
agent of the descendant or relative. 
Sec. 4.  13 MRSA §1141 is amended to read: 
§1141.  Grounds inalienable; description recorded 
When any persons appropriate for a burying ground a piece of land containing not 
more than 1/2 of an acre, it shall be is exempt from attachment and execution, and 
inalienable and indivisible by the owners without the consent of all; and must be kept 
fenced or otherwise substantially marked and occupied as a burying ground. They shall 
cause a written description of it, under their hands, attested by 2 disinterested witnesses, 
to be recorded in the registry of deeds in the county or district where it lies or by the clerk 
of the town where it is situated.  If a descendant or relative of a person buried in the 
burying ground or the designated agent of the descendant or relative, a municipality or its 
designated agent, a historical society, a lineage society or the faculty of an educational 
institution is unable to locate a record of the burying ground at the registry of deeds in the 
county where the burying ground is situated, or in the records of the municipal clerk of 
the municipality where the burying ground is situated, that individual or entity may file a 
description of the location and boundaries of the burying ground, along with supporting 
documentation, including photographs, with the municipal clerk of the municipality 
where the burying ground is situated.  The inability to locate a record of a burying ground 
at the registry of deeds in the county where a burying ground is situated, or in the records 
of the municipal clerk of the municipality where a burying ground is situated, does not 
negate the ownership of a burying ground. 
Sec. 5.  13 MRSA §1142, as amended by PL 1991, c. 412, §1, is further amended 
to read: 
§1142.  Family burying grounds 
When a person appropriates for a family burying ground a piece of land containing 
not more than 1/4 of an acre, causes a description of it to be recorded in the registry of 
deeds of the same county or by the clerk of the town where it is situated and substantially 
marks the bounds of the burying ground or encloses it with a fence, it is exempt from 
attachment and execution.  No subsequent conveyance of it is valid while any person is 
interred in the burying ground; but it must remain to the person who appropriated, 
recorded and marked that burying ground and to that person's heirs as a burial place 
forever.  If property surrounding a burying ground appropriated pursuant to this section is 
conveyed, the property is conveyed by the person who appropriated the property or by an 
heir of that person and the conveyance causes the burying ground to be inaccessible from 
any public way, the conveyance is made subject to an easement for the benefit of the 
spouse, ancestors and descendants of any person interred in the burying ground.  The 
easement may be used only by persons to walk in a direct route from the public way 
nearest the burying ground to the burying ground at reasonable hours.  A descendant or 
relative of a person buried in a family burying ground or the designated agent of a 
descendant or relative may file a description of the location and boundaries of the burying 
ground, along with supporting documentation, including photographs, with the municipal 
clerk of the municipality where the burying ground is situated.  If a descendant or relative 
of a person buried in a family burying ground cannot be located, the municipality or its 
designated agent, a historical society, a lineage society or the faculty of an educational 
institution may file the description of the burying ground with the municipal clerk of the 
municipality where the burying ground is situated.  The inability to locate a record of a 
family burying ground at the registry of deeds in the county where a burying ground is 
situated, or in the records of the municipal clerk of the municipality where a family 
burying ground is situated, does not negate ownership of the family burying ground by 
descendants or relatives of a person buried in the family burying ground.  A person who 
owns a parcel of land that contains a family burying ground shall provide a descendant or 
relative of a person buried in the family burying ground, or the designated agent of the 
descendant or relative, access to the family burying ground to protect and preserve the 
family burying ground through activities including, but not limited to, the use of 
photography, video recordings, geographic positioning systems and transcription of grave 
marker inscriptions to document condition and preserve historic information.  A 
descendant or relative of a person buried in a family burying ground or the designated 
agent of the descendant or relative may, at the expense of the descendant, relative or 
designated agent, determine the location of unmarked graves and cemetery boundaries 
through the use of ground-penetrating radar or other identification techniques and may 
erect or repair fencing around the family burying ground or repair any gravestone within 
the family burying ground. 
If property surrounding a burying ground appropriated pursuant to this section is 
conveyed, the property is conveyed by the person who appropriated the property or by an 
heir of that person and the conveyance causes the burying ground to be inaccessible from 
any public way, the conveyance is made subject to an easement for the benefit of the 
spouse, ancestors, descendants and relatives of any person interred in the burying ground.  
The easement may be used only by persons to walk in a direct route from the public way 
nearest the burying ground to the burying ground during daylight hours.  The owner of 
the property surrounding the family burying ground shall designate the direct route a 
person must use to access the family burying ground and is not liable for any injuries 
sustained by a person accessing the family burying ground using the designated route or 
within the boundaries of the family burying ground. 
SUMMARY 
This bill creates the following provisions. 
1.  A municipality or its caretaker may access an ancient burying ground on privately 
owned land annually or as determined by the municipality or its designated caretaker. 
2.  A municipality or its designated caretaker may use photography, video recording, 
geographic positioning systems and transcription of grave marker inscriptions to 
document condition and preserve historic information in a burying ground. 
3.  A municipality or its designated caretaker may use ground-penetrating radar or 
other methods to determine the location of unmarked graves and cemetery boundaries. 
4.  A person who owns land that contains an ancient burying ground must provide a 
descendant or relative of a person buried in the ancient burying ground, or a descendant 
or relative's designated agent, access to the ancient burying ground for the purposes of 
protecting or preserving it. 
5.  A municipal clerk of the municipality where an ancient burying ground is located 
must notarize a document allowing access to an ancient burying ground on privately 
owned land to a descendant or relative of a person buried in an ancient burying ground or 
the designated agent of the descendant or relative by the person who owns the parcel of 
land. 
6.  A descendant or relative of a person buried in an ancient burying ground, or the 
agent of a descendant or relative, may use photography, video recording, geographic 
positioning systems and transcription of grave marker inscriptions to document condition 
and preserve historic information in the burying ground.  A descendant or relative of a 
person buried in an ancient burying ground, or the designated agent of a descendant or 
relative, may also erect and repair fencing and repair gravestones. 
7.  A descendant or relative of a person buried in an ancient burying ground or the 
designated agent of a descendant or relative may employ a person to use ground-
penetrating radar or other methods to determine the location of unmarked graves and 
cemetery boundaries. 
8.  The inability to locate a record of a burying ground at a registry of deeds in the 
county in which the burying ground is located or in the records of the municipal clerk of 
the municipality in which the burying ground is located does not negate ownership of the 
burying ground. 
9.  If a descendant or relative of a person buried in the burying ground, or the 
designated agent of a descendant or relative, a municipality or its designated agent, a 
historical society, a lineage society or the faculty of an educational institution is unable to 
locate records of a burying ground, that individual or entity may file a description of the 
location and boundaries of the burying ground, along with supporting documentation, 
with the municipal clerk of the municipality where the burying ground is located. 
10.  The inability to locate a record of a family burying ground at a registry of deeds 
of the county in which the family burying ground is located or in the records of the 
municipal clerk of the municipality in which the family burying ground is located does 
not negate ownership of a family burying ground by descendants or relatives of a person 
buried in the family burying ground. 
11.  A descendant or relative of a person buried in a family burying ground, or the 
designated agent of a descendant or relative, may file a description of the location and 
boundaries of the burying ground, along with supporting documentation, with the 
municipal clerk of the municipality where the burying ground is located.  If a descendant 
or relative of a person buried in a family burying ground cannot be located, the 
municipality or its designated agent, a historical society, a lineage society or the faculty 
of an educational institution may file the description of the burying ground. 
12.  A descendant or relative of a person buried in a family burying ground, or the 
designated agent of a descendant or relative, may use photography, video recording, 
geographic positioning systems and transcription of grave marker inscriptions to 
document condition and preserve historic information in the burying ground.  A 
descendant or relative of a person buried in a family burying ground, or the designated 
agent of a descendant or relative, may also erect and repair fencing and repair 
gravestones. 
13.  A descendant or relative of a person buried in a family burying ground, or the 
designated agent of a descendant or relative, may employ a person to use ground-
penetrating radar or other methods to determine the location of unmarked graves and 
cemetery boundaries. 
14.  A relative of a person interred in a family burying ground is given an easement to 
access the burying ground if a property surrounding the burying ground is conveyed in a 
way that makes it inaccessible from any public way.  Current statute already gives this 
benefit to the spouse, ancestors and descendants of a person interred in a family burying 
ground.  Under this bill, the easement may be used only during daylight hours, and the 
property owner must designate the direct route a person must use to access the family 
burying ground. 
15.  The property owner who gives access to the spouse, ancestors, descendants and 
relatives of a person interred in a family burying ground is not liable for any injuries 
sustained by a person accessing the burying ground by the designated direct route or 
within the boundaries of the burying ground.