NY Not for Profit Corp L § 1513-A (2021)
2021 New York Laws NPC - Not-For-Profit Corporation Article 15 - Public Cemetery Corporations 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              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. Provided, however, that if their property  was reacquired  under  paragraph (i) of this section, thirty-five percent of the net proceeds shall be placed  in  the  permanent  maintenance  fund, fifty  percent  shall  be  placed  in  the  current maintenance fund and fifteen percent shall be placed in  a  perpetual  care  fund  which  the cemetery  shall  establish  in  the  name of the defunct society for the exclusive purpose of maintenance of the grounds on which the graves were reacquired.  (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 religious burial society.  (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.  (i)  A  cemetery corporation may, upon application and approval by the cemetery board, reacquire, resubdivide, and resell a lot, plot  or  part thereof  formerly  owned  by  a  nonsectarian  burial  society under the following circumstances:  (1) If the cemetery corporation has  received  a  request  to  make  a burial  on  the  grounds  of  a  nonsectarian  burial  society  and  the provisions of paragraph (h) of section fifteen hundred  twelve  of  this article  had  to  be  invoked  to  make  the  burial  then  the cemetery corporation may, at its discretion, commence the process of  reacquiring the  unused  graves  on  the grounds of the nonsectarian burial society, except that any graves that have been  reserved  for  individuals  where such  reservations  have  been  recorded on the books and records of the cemetery corporation shall be exempt from reclamation; or  (2) If routine mailings or proxy mailings are sent to the officers  of record  of  a nonsectarian burial society and such mailings are returned by the post office, the cemetery corporation  may,  at  its  discretion, make a second mailing by certified mail return receipt requested to each officer  of record of the nonsectarian burial society as recorded on the cemetery's books and records and, if each of these mailings is  returned by  the  post  office,  the cemetery corporation may, at its discretion, commence the process of reacquiring the unused graves on the grounds  of the  nonsectarian  burial society, except that any graves that have been reserved for individuals where such reservations have been  recorded  on the  books  and records of the cemetery corporation shall be exempt from reacquisition.  (j) If a cemetery corporation has decided to commence the  process  of reacquiring graves owned by a nonsectarian burial society it shall:  (1) send by certified mail return receipt requested to each individual who  has  engaged in proprietary activities in connection with graves on the grounds of a nonsectarian burial  society,  seeking  the  names  and addresses of any current officers of the nonsectarian burial society and informing  those individuals of the cemetery corporation's intentions of reacquiring the unused graves on the grounds of the nonsectarian  burial society;  (2) send by certified mail return receipt requested to each individual who  has  a  grave reserved or deeded to them a letter seeking the names and addresses of any current officers of the nonsectarian burial society and informing such individuals of the cemetery corporation's  intentions or  reacquiring  the  unused  graves  on the grounds of the nonsectarian burial society;  (3) post a notice as provided in clause three of subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (a) of this section;  (4) publish a notice as provided in clause five of subparagraph  (iii) of paragraph (a) of this section;  (5)  prepare  and  submit  an  affidavit  as provided in clause six of subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (a) of this section; and  (6) upon the sale of any  grave  or  graves  on  the  grounds  of  the nonsectarian  burial  society which have been reacquired by the cemetery corporation, the cemetery corporation shall distribute the net  proceeds of the sale as provided in paragraph (d) of this section.  (k)  The  cemetery  corporation shall delay the sale of ten percent of the graves it reacquires from the nonsectarian burial society for twenty years as a reserve  in  the  event  an  individual  or  individuals  are identified  who  have  a  valid  claim  for burial on the grounds of the nonsectarian burial society.  (l)  At  the  time  the graves that have been reacquired by a cemetery corporation from a nonsectarian burial society are sold, the contract of sale shall contain a clause  in  bold  type  which  specifies  that  the monuments to be erected on such lot, plot or part thereof, shall conform to  the size, style and type of monuments in the section of the cemetery where such graves are located.