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2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5323. Natural burial grounds; exemptions

§ 5323. Natural burial grounds; exemptions
(a) A natural burial ground shall not be subject to the following provisions of this chapter:
(1) section 5310 of this title with regard to the method of platting so as to allow the use of any nonstandard method of locating human remains that enables demarcation in the town land record of the exact location and identity of each buried body, such as by mapping, surveying, or use of a global positioning system;
(2) section 5362 of this title;
(3) section 5364 of this title, to the extent that selectboard members or cemetery commissioners need not maintain or repair a fence around a public natural burial ground so long as the perimeter of the natural burial ground is marked in a less obtrusive manner, such as by survey markers; and
(4) section 5371, unless the regulations governing a particular natural burial ground require a marker on a person’s grave, in which case the selectboard members of the town or the aldermen of a city where the person is buried shall cause to be erected on the person’s grave a marker in keeping with the regulations of that natural burial ground.
(b)(1) A person shall not construct improvements on property used as a natural burial ground, except for improvements that serve as a winter storage facility or that are either educational or devotional in nature and maintain the character of the land.
(2) A deed transferring rights in property used as a natural burial ground shall set forth the prohibition in subdivision (1) of this subsection. (Added 2015, No. 24, § 3.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5361. Appropriations and regulations by towns

§ 5361. Appropriations and regulations by towns
A town may vote sums of money necessary for purchasing, holding, improving, and keeping in repair suitable grounds and other conveniences for permanent disposition of the dead. The selectboard may make necessary regulations concerning public burial grounds and for fencing and keeping the same in proper order. (Amended 2021, No. 157 (Adj. Sess.), § 7, eff. July 1, 2022; 2021, No. 169 (Adj. Sess.), § 12, eff. January 1, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5362. Repair; expense; notice

§ 5362. Repair; expense; notice
(a) When lots or walks in a public burial ground become unsightly with weeds or by an unchecked growth of grass or from any other cause, or when headstones or monuments have become displaced or out of repair, the selectboard or board of cemetery commissioners shall cause such lots and walks to be cleared of weeds and grass, the headstones or monuments to be replaced or repaired, or other disfigurements removed, and may draw orders on the town treasurer for the expenses incurred.
(b) When a headstone or monument is to be replaced, the selectboard or board of cemetery commissioners shall notify relatives of the deceased, if known, of the date of the removal and that the relative may claim the removed headstone or monument within 30 days after the date of the notice. (Amended 1993, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 2015, No. 85 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 4, 2016.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5363. Penalty

§ 5363. Penalty
A selectboard member, cemetery commissioner, or trustee who violates a provision of this chapter, or willfully neglects any of the duties imposed by this chapter, for which other penalties are not provided, shall be fined not more than $200.00. (Amended 1989, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 11.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5364. Fences; penalty

§ 5364. Fences; penalty
When the selectboard or cemetery commissioners neglect to keep in repair the fence around a public burial ground, the town may be prosecuted for such neglect and fined not more than $400.00. The fine shall be expended in repairing the fences around such burial grounds under the direction of a commissioner appointed by the court. (Amended 1989, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 12.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5365. Damages for want of fence; liability

§ 5365. Damages for want of fence; liability
When a person or estate is damaged by cattle, horses, sheep, or swine breaking into a public burial ground and injuring a grave, headstone, monument, shrubbery, or flowers, for want of a legal fence around such burial ground, such person or estate may recover of the town double the amount of damages, in a civil action.
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5366. Not liable until notified

§ 5366. Not liable until notified
A town shall not be charged for not keeping in repair the fence around a burial ground, or be liable for damage done, unless the selectboard, or cemetery commissioners, as the case may be, had notice in writing 20 days previous that the fence was out of repair. (Amended 1989, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 13.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5367. Duties of selectboard

§ 5367. Duties of selectboard
When a town neglects to place one or more of its public burial grounds under the charge of a board of cemetery commissioners, the selectboard shall have power to sell and convey lots in such burial grounds. They shall apply the proceeds of such sales and accept for the town and use legacies, bequests, and gifts for improving and embellishing the grounds.
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5369. Removal

§ 5369. Removal
When it is impracticable to preserve a burial ground in proper condition, and the removal of the remains of the dead in the burial ground is required, the selectboard, in their discretion, may cause such remains to be removed and interred in a more suitable public burial ground. (Amended 2023, No. 6, § 174, eff. July 1, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5370. Notice; headstones

§ 5370. Notice; headstones
When remains of the dead are removed, the selectboard, if necessary, shall cause suitable headstones or monuments to be erected to the memory of the deceased, or to designate the place of interment. Such remains shall not be so removed if there are known kindred of the deceased residing in the State, until after 30 days’ notice of the intention so to do. When kindred do not reside in the State, and known kindred reside without the State, then the remains shall not be so removed, until after 60 days’ notice to one of such kindred. Such notice shall be given personally or by registered mail.
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5371. Town or city to furnish headstone

§ 5371. Town or city to furnish headstone
In case of the burial of a person not having known estate, and not having a suitable marker or headstone erected at the person’s grave within three years after the date of such burial, the selectboard of the town or the aldermen of a city, as the case may be, where such person is buried, shall cause to be erected at such person’s grave, at the expense of such town or city, a suitable marker or headstone with the inscription thereon of the name of the deceased and dates of the deceased’s birth and death, if the same are known. (Amended 2023, No. 6, § 175, eff. July 1, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5372. Appropriation for cemetery associations

§ 5372. Appropriation for cemetery associations
At a legal meeting of the voters thereof, when an article for such purpose has been duly inserted in the warning for such meeting, a town may appropriate such sums of money as it deems necessary for an incorporated cemetery association owning or in control of a cemetery in such town, for the purposes of such cemetery.
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5373. Cemetery commissioners

§ 5373. Cemetery commissioners
When a town votes to place its public burial grounds under the charge of cemetery commissioners, it shall elect separately a board of three or five cemetery commissioners, who shall have the care and management of such burial ground and exercise all the powers, rights, and duties with respect to such care and management and all responsibility on the part of the selectboard shall cease.
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5374. Term

§ 5374. Term
The commissioner first chosen shall hold office five years, the next four years, the next three years, the next two years, and the last one year. When the term of office of each commissioner expires, a successor shall be chosen for five years. Vacancies in the board may be filled by the remaining commissioners until the next annual meeting. However, a town so voting at an annual town meeting may limit the number of the board to three members and the term of office to three years.
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5375. Laying out and improving grounds; burial without charge

§ 5375. Laying out and improving grounds; burial without charge
The board of cemetery commissioners may set apart such portion of the burial grounds placed under its charge as it deems proper, as a place for the burial of persons without charge therefor, under such regulations as it prescribes. It may lay out the remaining unoccupied portions in suitable lots, with necessary paths, avenues, or other reserved places, and may plant and embellish the same with trees, shrubs, and flowers.
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5376. Sale of lots; tax exemption

§ 5376. Sale of lots; tax exemption
The board of cemetery commissioners, by one of the commissioners appointed by it for that purpose, in the name of the town, by deed, may grant and convey lots in such burial grounds to be used for the permanent disposition of the dead and on which tombs, cenotaphs, and other monuments are to be erected. Such lots shall be exempt from taxation. The deeds thereof shall be recorded in the office of the town clerk of the town where such lots lie. (Amended 2021, No. 169 (Adj. Sess.), § 13, eff. January 1, 2023; 2023, No. 6, § 176, eff. July 1, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5377. Proceeds of sale; expenditure

§ 5377. Proceeds of sale; expenditure
The proceeds of such sale of lots shall be paid into the town treasury and kept separate from other funds of the town and subject to the order of the board. Such proceeds, with the income thereof, shall be devoted to maintaining, improving, and embellishing such burial grounds. If the town so votes, the board may sell lots upon condition that the proceeds from a sale shall be paid into the town treasury in trust and the income thereof be expended in caring for such lots and the structures thereon. The board shall fix the prices for such lots and make regulations in respect to the sale and care thereof. (Amended 2023, No. 6, § 177, eff. July 1, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5378. Bylaws and regulations

§ 5378. Bylaws and regulations
The board of cemetery commissioners may make necessary bylaws and regulations in respect to such burial grounds, and permanent disposition of the dead not inconsistent with law, and may alter the same. Such bylaws and regulations shall be recorded in the office of the town clerk. A bylaw or regulation shall not be adopted to restrain a person in the free exercise of his or her religious sentiments as to the permanent disposition of the dead. (Amended 2021, No. 169 (Adj. Sess.), § 14, eff. January 1, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5379. Report of cemetery commissioners

§ 5379. Report of cemetery commissioners
The board shall submit annually a written report to the town auditors as to the condition and needs of the burial grounds under its charge and of its doings, including a detailed statement of its receipts and expenditures and of the amount and disposition of the funds in its hands or subject to its control.
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5382. Town trust funds—Acceptance of property

§ 5382. Town trust funds—Acceptance of property
A town may take and hold in trust grants, gifts, or bequests of property and apply the same or the income thereof for the care, improvement, or embellishment of its burial grounds or a part thereof, or for the erection, preservation, or removal of a monument, fence, or other structure in or around the same according to the terms of the grant, gift, or bequest.
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5385. Accounts; expenditures

§ 5385. Accounts; expenditures
The town treasurer shall keep a separate account of each such trust fund unless the same is in charge of the trustees of public funds. The income therefrom shall be subject to the order of the selectboard or board of cemetery commissioners as the case may be. Such boards shall expend such income pursuant to the conditions of the trust. When such boards neglect to expend the income pursuant to the conditions of the trust, the town may be indicted for such neglect and upon conviction be fined not more than $100.00.
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5387. Money received prior to 1895

§ 5387. Money received prior to 1895
Sections 5383-5386 of this title shall not be construed to affect the action of a town in respect to money received in trust for the purpose named by the donor, prior to February 1, 1895.
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5431. Cemetery associations; corporations

§ 5431. Cemetery associations; corporations
Every cemetery established after June 1, 1933 that is not owned and operated by a town or by a religious or ecclesiastical society shall be established, owned, and operated by a corporation as prescribed in this subchapter. (Amended 2023, No. 6, § 179, eff. July 1, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5433. Authority; powers

§ 5433. Authority; powers
Upon filing the articles of incorporation, the incorporators and other members, if any, from the date of such filing, shall be and constitute a body corporate with perpetual succession and with capacity to perform all acts within the State not repugnant to law or the provisions of this chapter.
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5434. Penalty for doing business as a cemetery association without authority

§ 5434. Penalty for doing business as a cemetery association without authority
A person, firm, corporation, or association, or a trust, trustee, or trustees of any person, firm, corporation, or association, who, without authority of this chapter so to do, shall exercise or attempt to exercise any powers, privileges, or franchises that are specified or may be granted under this chapter to incorporated cemetery associations, or who shall by any device attempt to evade the provisions of this chapter applicable to cemetery associations in respect to the sale of lots or spaces for the permanent disposition of human remains and the disposition of the proceeds thereof, shall be fined not less than $1,000.00 nor more than $10,000.00, and may be enjoined from further doing of such acts at the suit of any taxpayer of the State. However, the provisions of this section shall not affect or impair the rights of a person, firm, corporation, or association or a trust, trustee, or trustees of such person, firm, corporation, or association under any existing contract or contracts between such parties and incorporated cemetery associations, nor shall the performance of the provisions of such contract or contracts subject parties thereto to the penalties imposed by this section. (V.S. 1947, § 4068; P.L. § 3900; 1933, No. 49, § 21; amended 2021, No. 169 (Adj. Sess.), § 15, eff. January 1, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5435. Sales of lots, crypts, and niches; how income applied; rules

§ 5435. Sales of lots, crypts, and niches; how income applied; rules
(a) The income of a cemetery association, whether derived from the sale of lots, spaces, crypts, or niches for the permanent disposition of human remains, from donations, or otherwise, shall be exclusively applied to paying for the land or other cemetery property; laying out, preserving, protecting, and embellishing the cemetery and avenues leading thereto; the erection of buildings necessary for cemetery purposes; the establishing of a fund to care permanently for the cemetery; the repair and upkeep of mausoleums, vaults, columbariums, crypts, and niches in the cemetery; and to paying the necessary expenses of the cemetery association. A debt shall not be contracted in anticipation of future receipts, except for the original purchase of the land, community mausoleum, or columbarium, laying out, enclosing, and embellishing the grounds and avenues therein and to a sum not exceeding $50,000.00 in the whole, to be paid out of future income. The proceeds from the sale of lots, spaces, crypts, or niches for the permanent disposition of human remains, or other income of such association, shall not be divided among its members. All its income shall be used exclusively for the purposes of the association, as provided in this chapter, or invested in a fund the income of which shall be so used. Such association may adopt such reasonable rules and regulations as it deems expedient for disposing of and conveying lots, spaces, crypts, and niches for the permanent disposition of human remains.
(b) At a regular meeting or at a special meeting duly called for that purpose, a cemetery corporation may adopt bylaws respecting improvements upon its lots and grounds as to the embellishment and beautifying of the same. It may also provide that the cost of such improvements be paid out of the regular funds of the corporation. (Amended 2023, No. 6, § 180, eff. July 1, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5436. Perpetual care fund

§ 5436. Perpetual care fund
A cemetery association established prior to June 1, 1933 may create a perpetual care fund out of surplus money on hand or that has been given to it by will, deed, or otherwise. A cemetery association established after such date shall create such a perpetual care fund by applying thereto from the initial proceeds received from the sale of lots or spaces for the permanent disposition of human remains a sum that shall be equivalent to and not less than 20 percent of the sale price of each lot or space so sold, and such association may at any time increase the same by the addition of surplus money or property received by it by will, deed, or otherwise. (V.S. 1947, § 4071; 1947, No. 202, § 4072; P.L. § 3903; 1933, No. 49, § 24; amended 2021, No. 169 (Adj. Sess.), § 17, eff. January 1, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5437. Investment

§ 5437. Investment
A cemetery association shall invest trust funds in the same manner as town cemeteries pursuant to section 5384 of this title and may delegate the management and investment of cemetery association funds pursuant to subdivision (b)(3) of that section. (Amended 2021, No. 84 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. July 1, 2022.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5438. Cemetery accounts; annual reports

§ 5438. Cemetery accounts; annual reports
(a) A cemetery association shall keep and maintain adequate and correct accounts of its business transactions, which at all reasonable times shall be open to the inspection of every member of such corporation. It shall keep separate and apart from its other funds all monies and property received by it for the perpetual care of the cemetery, community mausoleum, or columbarium that is owned by it or for the lots therein, and it shall keep accurate accounts of such perpetual care funds separate and apart from its accounts of other funds.
(b) The treasurer of such corporation shall make, sign, and file at the annual meeting a report countersigned by the president, concerning the affairs of the corporation and the perpetual care funds, which report shall contain, among other things, a statement as to the amount of the treasurer’s bond and a true statement of the total amount of the fund or funds received and set apart for the perpetual care of the lots, cemetery, community mausoleum, and columbarium. Such report shall contain a list of the securities in which such fund or funds are invested, the income received from the fund or funds, all disbursements from such income, and the balance of money or property held and on hand in such fund or funds, and copies thereof shall forthwith be filed with the town clerk of the town and with the Probate Division of the Superior Court for the district in which the cemetery, community mausoleum, or columbarium is situated. (Amended 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 238a, eff. Feb. 1, 2011; 2023, No. 6, § 181, eff. July 1, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5439. Dissolution of cemetery associations

§ 5439. Dissolution of cemetery associations
A cemetery association, which is not owned and operated by a church or by a religious or ecclesiastical society, may be dissolved under the provisions of 11B V.S.A. chapter 14. Upon dissolution, all lands owned or held by it for cemetery purposes and all perpetual care funds, trust funds, and all other property held or owned by it, less dissolution expenses, may be transferred to the town in which the lands are located, and thereafter these lands may become public burial grounds, and the town shall hold the perpetual care funds and trust funds in trust for the care, improvement, and embellishment of the lots in the cemetery, according to the terms upon which they were held by the association. (Amended 1975, No. 74; 2023, No. 6, § 182, eff. July 1, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5440. Merger of cemetery associations

§ 5440. Merger of cemetery associations
(a) An incorporated cemetery association or society, whether chartered by special act of the General Assembly or organized under articles of association, may merge with another incorporated association or society in the same town, thereby forming a new corporation under such name as may be designated in the articles of association hereinafter referred to.
(b) Such merger shall be made by vote of a majority of the trustees or directors of each corporation. When so made, certified copies of the proceedings shall be forwarded to the Secretary of State.
(c) The trustees of each such corporation may authorize the secretary thereof to sign the name of such corporation to the articles of association of the new corporation, and authorize one or more other persons to sign such articles of association. Such articles shall be filed with the Secretary of State. The articles shall set forth the name of the new corporation and they shall conform generally to the provisions of 11B V.S.A. chapter 1. When such articles are filed and recorded by the Secretary of State, all right, title, and interest in all property owned by each, and in trust funds held by each, shall vest in such new corporation, and the corporate functions of each of the corporations so merged shall cease after such new corporation has completed its organization.
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5481. Acquisition of land and property—Purchase or gift

§ 5481. Acquisition of land and property—Purchase or gift
The right to acquire land and property for cemetery purposes, either by purchase or gift, by towns, churches, religious or ecclesiastical societies, and cemetery associations is hereby affirmed under the conditions and restrictions set forth in this chapter.
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5483. Acquisition of land by town

§ 5483. Acquisition of land by town
When it is necessary to enlarge a public burial ground or to establish a new one, three or more freeholders of the town may apply in writing to the selectboard, setting forth such necessity with a description of the land necessary for the purpose. The selectboard shall then proceed as in case of an application by three or more freeholders to lay out a highway. (Amended 2023, No. 6, § 183, eff. July 1, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5484. Acquisition of gravel by town or association

§ 5484. Acquisition of gravel by town or association
(a) When public necessity requires that a burial ground be raised or portions thereof filled up with gravel or earth, and the town or association owning or managing the same cannot agree with the owner of such gravel or earth for its purchase, three or more owners of lots in such burial ground may apply in writing to the selectboard, setting forth such necessity. The selectboard shall then proceed as in case of an application to them by three or more freeholders to lay out a highway. If in their opinion such necessity exists, they shall authorize, in writing, such town or association to take and remove such gravel or earth, use the same for the purposes aforesaid, and appraise the damage to the owner thereof.
(b) Before such town or association takes or removes gravel or earth, as provided in subsection (a) of this section, it shall pay or tender to the owner the amount of damages as appraised by the selectboard. (Amended 2023, No. 6, § 184, eff. July 1, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5485. Appeal to Superior Court

§ 5485. Appeal to Superior Court
When, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, a person owning or having an interest in lands taken for a burial ground, or gravel or earth for the same, is dissatisfied with such taking or with the damages awarded to the person by the selectboard in such proceedings, the person may petition the Superior Court of the county in which such lands lie in the same manner as in case of an appeal as to the laying out of a highway by the selectboard, and thereupon the same proceedings shall be had on such petition. (Amended 1973, No. 193 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. April 9, 1974; 2023, No. 6, § 185, eff. July 1, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5487. Acquisition of land by cemetery associations generally

§ 5487. Acquisition of land by cemetery associations generally
A cemetery association may acquire by gift, purchase at its fair cash market value, or devise such lands as may be necessary for its cemetery purposes. If the consent of the selectboard and local board of health is first had and obtained in writing, such association may devote the same to such cemetery purposes. When it is necessary to acquire lands by condemnation proceedings, such proceedings shall be taken as provided in sections 5488–5494 of this title. (Amended 2023, No. 6, § 186, eff. July 1, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5488. Enlargement of cemeteries by associations—Petition to Superior Court to acquire land

§ 5488. Enlargement of cemeteries by associations—Petition to Superior Court to acquire land
When an incorporated cemetery association wishes to enlarge the limits of its burial ground, and votes to purchase additional land for permanent disposition purposes and the owner of such land refuses to convey the same to the cemetery association for a reasonable compensation, the trustees or president of such association, by a petition in writing, may apply to the Superior Court in the county in which such burial ground is located for the appointment of commissioners. (Amended 1973, No. 193 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. April 9, 1974; 2021, No. 169 (Adj. Sess.), § 18, eff. January 1, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5490. Notice; hearing

§ 5490. Notice; hearing
The commissioners shall appoint a time and place for examination of the premises and appraisal of the damages. They shall give six days’ notice thereof to the president or to one or more of the trustees of such association, and to the owner or occupant of such land either personally or by written notice left at the residence of such owner or occupant, and shall examine the premises and inquire into the public necessity and convenience of such enlargement.
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5492. Report, filing

§ 5492. Report, filing
When the commissioners have completed their inquiries, they shall make report, stating their doings and decision, with their survey and appraisal of damages. Such report shall be returned to and filed in the office of the clerk of the court within 30 days after the completion of such inquiry.
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5531. Disposal of lot by will; descent; burial rights of husband and wife

§ 5531. Disposal of lot by will; descent; burial rights of husband and wife
(a) The owner of a cemetery lot may dispose of same by will to any one of the owner’s relatives who may survive the owner, or to any agency owning and conducting the cemetery in which the lot is situated, in trust, for the use and benefit of any person or persons designated in such will. When no express disposition or other mention is made in a will of a cemetery lot owned by the testator at the testator’s decease, and where the testator or any member of the testator’s family is buried, the ownership of the lot shall not pass from the testator’s lawful heirs by any residuary or other general clause of the will but shall descend to the testator’s heirs, as if the testator had died intestate.
(b) A wife shall be entitled to a right of interment for her own body in any burial lot or tomb of sufficient size and space to permit such interment, of which her husband was seized at any time during coverture, which shall be exempt from the operation of the laws regulating conveyance, descent, and devise, but may be released by her in the same manner as dower. A husband shall have the same rights in the burial lot or tomb of his wife as a wife has in that of her husband. A husband or wife living separate from the other, and owning a burial lot or tomb in which the other but for this section would have no right of burial or interment, at least 30 days before the death of the other, may file with the agency conducting the cemetery in which such burial lot or tomb is located a written objection to the interment of the other and thereupon there shall be no right of interment of such husband or wife under this section.
(c) The Probate Division of the Superior Court shall have jurisdiction to determine all questions arising under the provisions of this section.
(d) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed as a limitation of the right of any agency owning and conducting a cemetery, either by rule and regulation, or by deed or contract, to define or limit the persons or classes of persons having the right of burial upon any lot in the cemetery of such agency, or to prohibit or restrict the resale of any such lot or burial space. (Amended 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 149, eff. Feb. 1, 2011; 2023, No. 6, § 187, eff. July 1, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5532. Escheat of cemetery lots—Definition

§ 5532. Escheat of cemetery lots—Definition
For the purposes of sections 5532-5537 of this title, the term “agency” shall mean town cemeteries, religious or ecclesiastical society cemeteries, and any person, firm, corporation, or unincorporated association engaged in the business of a cemetery.
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5533. Escheat when owner’s whereabouts unknown

§ 5533. Escheat when owner’s whereabouts unknown
When the whereabouts of a person or his or her heirs, having legal title or color of title to a wholly unoccupied burial lot in any cemetery has been unknown for 20 years, such lot shall escheat to the agency upon petition brought by the agency and hearing and judgment had thereon as provided in sections 5534-5537 of this title.
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5534. Petition; hearing

§ 5534. Petition; hearing
The cemetery commissioners or other proper officers may file a petition on behalf of the agency with the Probate Division of the Superior Court of the district where said agency is located for an inquisition in the premises. The Probate Division of the Superior Court shall then appoint a time and place of hearing and deciding on such petition, and cause a notice thereof to be published in some newspaper circulating in the vicinity where the cemetery is located. (Amended 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 238a, eff. Feb. 1, 2011; 2023, No. 6, § 188, eff. July 1, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5535. Notice; publication

§ 5535. Notice; publication
Such notice shall recite the substance of the facts set forth in the petition, and the time and place at which persons claiming the burial lot may appear and be heard before the court, and shall be published at least three weeks successively, the last of which publications shall be not less than six months before the time appointed by the court for making the inquisition.
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5537. Heirs

§ 5537. Heirs
If an heir or other person entitled to such lot appears within 17 years after the date of such decree and files a claim with the Probate Division of the Superior Court that made such decree, and establishes a claim to such lot, the heir or other person shall have possession of the same, or if sold, the agency shall be accountable for the avails of such sale, without interest, to the persons entitled thereto, after deducting charges and costs incurred by the agency in connection therewith. A claim not made within 17 years shall be barred. (Amended 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 238a, eff. Feb. 1, 2011; 2023, No. 6, § 189, eff. July 1, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5571. Location

§ 5571. Location
A community mausoleum, as defined in section 5302 of this title, other than structures containing crypts erected or controlled by churches and religious societies and used only as a repository for the remains of the clergy or dignitaries of such churches or religious societies, and every columbarium or other structure intended to hold or contain the bodies or remains of the dead, the spaces, crypts, or niches of which are available to the public, shall be located only within the confines of an established cemetery, containing not less than five acres, and which shall have been in existence and operation for a period of at least five years immediately preceding the time of the erection thereof. (Amended 2023, No. 6, § 190, eff. July 1, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5573. Construction requirements

§ 5573. Construction requirements
(a) A community mausoleum or columbarium, the crypts or niches of which are available to the public, shall be constructed and erected only with the consent and approval of the legislative body of the municipality and local board of health.
(b) Before commencing the building, construction, or erection of any such structure, full detailed plans and specifications shall be presented to the Department of Health. The approval of plans and specifications shall be evidenced by a certificate in writing, signed by the legislative body of the municipality and the local board of health.
(c) A community mausoleum, columbarium, or any structure intended to hold or contain permanently the bodies of the dead, and to which the public shall have access, shall not be constructed or erected without the approvals required by this section. A building not used for the permanent disposition of the human dead shall not be altered or changed to be used for the permanent disposition of the human dead, and an addition shall not be made to any existing community mausoleum or columbarium, unless constructed of material and workmanship as will ensure its durability and permanence as well as the safety, convenience, comfort, and health of the community in which it is located, as dictated and determined at the time by modern mausoleum construction and engineering science.
(d) Construction shall be managed and supervised by a person with experience in modern mausoleum construction and engineering. (Amended 1959, No. 329 (Adj. Sess.), § 27, eff. March 1, 1961; 2017, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § 95; 2021, No. 15, § 5; 2023, No. 53, § 123, eff. June 8, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5575. Use before completion prohibited

§ 5575. Use before completion prohibited
A community mausoleum, columbarium, crypt, niche, or structure so erected as aforesaid shall not be used for the purpose of depositing therein the remains of any dead body until the same is finally completed and the maintenance fund required by this chapter has been provided for in accordance with the provisions hereof.
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5576. Sales before the completion of building; bond

§ 5576. Sales before the completion of building; bond
A crypt or room in a community mausoleum, or niche in a columbarium, shall not be sold or offered for sale before such structure is entirely completed, unless and until the agency selling such crypts or niches enters into an agreement in which it agrees to refund to each and every purchaser of crypts, rooms, and niches all sums of money paid by each, together with legal interest thereon, in the event it fails to complete such mausoleum or columbarium within a reasonable time thereafter, which agreement shall be entered into with a bank or trust company as trustee for the purchasers of crypts, rooms, and niches. The agency shall also deposit with the trustee a good and sufficient bond or other security that shall guarantee the faithful performance of the agreement. The selection of the bank or trust company, the trust agreement, and the bond or other security herein provided for shall be submitted to and be subject to the approval of the Probate Division of the Superior Court of the district where such community mausoleum or columbarium is located. (Amended 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 238a, eff. Feb. 1, 2011; 2023, No. 6, § 191, eff. July 1, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5577. Mausoleum becoming untenable

§ 5577. Mausoleum becoming untenable
If a mausoleum, vault, crypt, or structure containing one or more deceased human bodies becomes a hazard to public health, and the owner or owners of the structure fail to remedy or remove the same to the satisfaction of the Department of Health, a court of competent jurisdiction may order the person, firm, or corporation owning the structure to remove the body or bodies for interment in some suitable cemetery at the expense of the person, firm, or corporation owning the mausoleum, vault, or crypt. When the person, firm, or corporation cannot be found in the county where the mausoleum, vault, or crypt is located, then the removal and interment shall be at the expense of the cemetery, cemetery association, city, or town where the mausoleum, vault, or crypt is situated. (Amended 1959, No. 329 (Adj. Sess.), § 27, eff. March 1, 1961; 2021, No. 15, § 5.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5578. Perpetual care funds

§ 5578. Perpetual care funds
There shall be established and maintained a fund for the perpetual care and maintenance of such community mausoleum and columbarium by applying in the case of a community mausoleum not less than the sum of $100.00 from the proceeds received from the sale of each crypt and 10 percent of the proceeds received from the sale of each room; and in case of niches in a community mausoleum or columbarium, used as a repository for the remains of deceased persons after cremation, a sum which shall be equivalent to 10 percent of the sale price of each niche. In event sales of crypts or rooms in a community mausoleum, or sales of niches in a community mausoleum or columbarium are made upon partial payments, there shall be set apart and applied to such fund from each partial payment the percentage that the amount of the partial payment bears to the total purchase price of the crypt, room, or niche. (Amended 2017, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § 96.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5579. Penalties

§ 5579. Penalties
A person who violates a provision of sections 5571-5578 of this title shall be fined not less than $100.00 nor more than $500.00 or be imprisoned in the State correctional facility not less than 10 days nor more than three months, or both, for each offense. (Amended 1967, No. 345 (Adj. Sess.), § 30, eff. April 1, 1969.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 171 - General Provisions › § 7102. Out-of-state patients

§ 7102. Out-of-state patients
Nothing in this part of this title shall be deemed to alter or impair the application or availability to any patient, while hospitalized in a state outside Vermont pursuant to contractual arrangements under subdivision 7401(6) of this title, of any rights, remedies, or protective safeguards provided by the law of that state or by the Interstate Compact on Mental Health where applicable. (Added 1967, No. 305 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 1968.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 171 - General Provisions › § 7104. Wrongful hospitalization or denial of rights; fraud; elopement

§ 7104. Wrongful hospitalization or denial of rights; fraud; elopement
A person shall be fined not more than $500.00 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both, if he or she willfully causes, or conspires with or assists another to cause:
(1) the hospitalization of an individual knowing that the individual is not mentally ill or in need of hospitalization or treatment as an individual with a mental illness or intellectual disability; or
(2) the denial to any individual of any rights granted to him or her under this part of this title; or
(3) the voluntary admission to a hospital of an individual, knowing that he or she is not mentally ill or eligible for treatment, thereby attempting to defraud the State; or
(4) the elopement of any patient from a hospital or who knowingly harbors any patient who has eloped, or who aids in abducting a patient who has been conditionally discharged from the person or persons in whose care and service that patient has been legally placed. (Added 1967, No. 305 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 1968; amended 1977, No. 257 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; 2013, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 100; 2019, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 123.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 171 - General Provisions › § 7105. Arrest of eloped persons

§ 7105. Arrest of eloped persons
Any sheriff, deputy sheriff, constable, or officer of state or local police, and any officer or employee of any designated hospital or designated program may arrest any person who has eloped from a designated hospital or designated program and return such person. (Added 1967, No. 305 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 1968; amended 1987, No. 248 (Adj. Sess.), § 8; 2017, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § 97.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 171 - General Provisions › § 7106. Notice of hospitalization and discharge

§ 7106. Notice of hospitalization and discharge
Whenever a patient has been admitted to a hospital other than upon the patient’s own application, the head of the hospital shall immediately notify the patient’s legal guardian, spouse, parent, or parents, or nearest known relative or interested party, if known. If the involuntary hospitalization or admission was without court order, notice shall also be given to the Superior Court judge for the Family Division of the Superior Court in the unit where the hospital is located. If the hospitalization or admission was by order of any court, the head of the hospital admitting or discharging an individual shall immediately make a report thereof to the Commissioner and to the court that entered the order for hospitalization or admission. (Added 1967, No. 305 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 1968; amended 1977, No. 252 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 150; 2023, No. 6, § 193, eff. July 1, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 171 - General Provisions › § 7107. Extramural work

§ 7107. Extramural work
Any hospital in the State dealing with mental health may do, or procure to be done, extramural work in the way of prevention, observation, care, and consultation with respect to mental health. (Added 1967, No. 305 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 1968; amended 2017, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § 98.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 171 - General Provisions › § 7109. Sale of articles; revolving fund

§ 7109. Sale of articles; revolving fund
(a) The superintendent of a hospital or training school may sell articles made by the patients or students in the handiwork or occupational therapy departments of the institution and the proceeds thereof shall be credited to a revolving fund. When it is for their best interest, the superintendent may, with the consent of the patients or their legal representatives, employ patients or students or permit them to be employed on a day placement basis.
(b) The consent of the patient or the legal representative of the patient or student shall, in consideration of the undertaking of the superintendent, contain the further agreement that one-half the earnings of the patient or student shall be credited to the personal account of the patient or student so employed at interest for benefit of the patient or student and the balance shall be credited to the fund. The superintendent shall hold and expend the fund for the purchase of equipment and materials for the handicraft or group therapy departments and for the educational and recreational welfare of the patient or student group. He or she shall submit an annual report of the fund to the Commissioner. Balances remaining in it at the end of a fiscal year shall be carried forward and be available for the succeeding fiscal year.
(c) For purposes of this section the legal representative of the patient or student shall be the duly appointed guardian, the spouse, the parents, or the next of kin legally responsible for the patient or student. In their absence, the Commissioner shall be the legal representative. (Added 1967, No. 305 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 1968; amended 1977, No. 146 (Adj. Sess.), § 2.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 171 - General Provisions › § 7110. Certification of mental illness

§ 7110. Certification of mental illness
A certification of mental illness by a licensed physician required by section 7504 of this title shall be made by a board-eligible psychiatrist, a board-certified psychiatrist, or a resident in psychiatry, under penalty of perjury. In areas of the State where board-eligible psychiatrists, board-certified psychiatrists, or residents in psychiatry are not available to complete admission certifications to the Vermont State Hospital or its successor in interest, the Commissioner may designate other licensed physicians as appropriate to complete certification for purposes of section 7504 of this title. (Added 1967, No. 305 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 1968; amended 1977, No. 145 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1995, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2011, No. 79 (Adj. Sess.), § 19, eff. April 4, 2012.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 171 - General Provisions › § 7111. Right to legal counsel

§ 7111. Right to legal counsel
In any proceeding before, or notice to, a court of this State involving a patient or student, or a proposed patient or student, that person shall be afforded counsel, and if the patient or student or proposed patient or student is unable to pay for counsel, compensation shall be paid by the State to counsel assigned by the court; however, this section shall not apply to a proceeding under section 7505 of this title. (Added 1967, No. 305 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 1968; amended 1977, No. 252 (Adj. Sess.), § 4.)