2023 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.