2023 New York Laws › RCO - Religious Corporations › Article 2 - General Provisions › 8-A - Reacquisition of a Lot, Plot or Part Thereof by a Cemetery.

§  8-a.  Reacquisition of a lot, plot or part thereof by a cemetery. A
religious cemetery corporation may, upon application and approval  by  a
supreme  court,  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
religious  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, at the site
of the lot, plot or part thereof to be reacquired 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  judgment, 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  religious
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 supreme court of proof of compliance
with  the  above  requirements  in   form   and   substance   reasonably
satisfactory  to  such  supreme  court  and upon approval by the supreme
court, 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 subdivision (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  supreme  court  which
complies  with  the  requirements  set  forth in subdivision (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
religious cemetery corporation as provided in this section.  Nothing  in
this  section  shall  permit a religious 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 religious cemetery  corporation  to
remove  a  monument  or  other embellishment to facilitate the resale of
such lot, plot or part thereof.
(c) If the owner or owners of a lot,  plot  or  part  thereof  can  be
identified,  the religious 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 religious cemetery corporation, provided, however, if no
burial has been made in the lot, plot or part hereof, 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 supreme court, 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 supreme court 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  which  the  religious  cemetery
corporation  shall  certify  under  penalty of law shall be the price at
which  the  lot,  plot  or  part  thereof  shall  be  sold   for   after
reacquisition.  Any persons notified pursuant to this subdivision by the
identified owner or owners of the lot, plot or part thereof  must  agree
to  erect  a  monument  of  reasonable  uniformity  to  the  immediately
surrounding monuments as provided in subdivision  (f)  of  this  section
before  the persons notified may enter into an agreement to purchase the
lot, plot or part thereof.
(d) Upon the sale of a lot, plot  or  part  thereof  reacquired  by  a
religious  cemetery corporation under the provisions of subdivision (a),
(b), or (c) of this section, the net proceeds shall be placed in a trust
designated to provide future maintenance of the cemetery.
(e) If the owner of the lot, plot  or  part  thereof  is  subsequently
identified,  the  religious  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  religious  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)  Monuments to be erected on a lot, plot or part thereof, following
the resale of a lot, plot or part thereof, shall conform  to  the  rules
and   regulations  or  other  requirements  of  the  religious  cemetery

corporation and shall conform to the size, style, and type of  monuments
in the section of the cemetery where such resale occurs.
(g)  No corporation shall utilize the reacquisition provisions of this
section  in   violation   of   such   corporation's   sectarian   burial
requirements.