An interment right does not include the right for disinterment of human remains except on consent of the cemetery district and the written consent of the surviving spouse, child, parent, or sibling, in that order of priority.
Public Cemetery DistrictsInterment Rights
Section § 9069.10
This law states that you can't move buried remains unless the cemetery district agrees, and you have written permission from the closest living relative. The order of priority for relatives is the surviving spouse first, then a child, followed by a parent or sibling.
interment right disinterment consent human remains
Section § 9069.15
This law explains that moving remains within the same cemetery is allowed and does not have any restrictions from this specific chapter. Such movements can happen if ordered by the local superior court, the coroner, or the local health department.
The cemetery district must keep a copy of any such removal order. They also need to maintain detailed records of the removal, including the date, the deceased person's details, the original and new plot information, and how the remains were handled if not reburied.
Finally, whoever moves the remains must give the cemetery district a full record of this information.
(a)CA Health & Safety Code § 9069.15(a) This chapter does not apply to, or prohibit, the removal of remains from one plot to another in the same cemetery or the removal of remains by a cemetery district upon the written order of any of the following:
(1)CA Health & Safety Code § 9069.15(a)(1) The superior court of the county in which the cemetery is located.
(2)CA Health & Safety Code § 9069.15(a)(2) The coroner having jurisdiction of the location of the cemetery.
(3)CA Health & Safety Code § 9069.15(a)(3) The health department having jurisdiction of the cemetery.
(b)CA Health & Safety Code § 9069.15(b) The cemetery district shall maintain a duplicate copy of an order
pursuant to subdivision (a).
(c)CA Health & Safety Code § 9069.15(c) The cemetery district shall retain a true and correct record of a removal of remains pursuant to subdivision (a) that includes all of the following:
(1)CA Health & Safety Code § 9069.15(c)(1) The date the remains were removed.
(2)CA Health & Safety Code § 9069.15(c)(2) The name and the age at death of the person whose remains were removed if available.
(3)CA Health & Safety Code § 9069.15(c)(3) The cemetery and plot from which the remains were removed.
(4)Copy CA Health & Safety Code § 9069.15(c)(4)
(A)Copy CA Health & Safety Code § 9069.15(c)(4)(A) If the removed remains are reinterred, the plot number, cemetery name, and location to which the remains were reinterred.
(B)CA Health & Safety Code § 9069.15(c)(4)(A)(B) If the removed
remains are disposed of other than by being reinterred, a record of the alternate disposition.
(5)CA Health & Safety Code § 9069.15(c)(5) If the removed remains are reinterred at the cemetery, the date of reinterment.
(d)CA Health & Safety Code § 9069.15(d) The person making the removal shall deliver to the cemetery district operating the cemetery from which the remains were removed a true, full, and complete copy of the record containing all of the information specified in subdivision (c).
removal of remains same cemetery superior court order
Section § 9069.20
This law section explains the rights associated with owning an interment right, which is basically a transferable interest in a cemetery plot. The person recorded as the owner can decide who else may be buried in the plot. This right doesn't mean you own the land, just the spot for burial. Owners are required to name a successor when buying this right, which means they must specify who gets this right when they're gone. The use of this transfer must follow state and local laws as well as any rules by the cemetery's board of trustees.
(a)CA Health & Safety Code § 9069.20(a) An interment right provides a transferable property interest to the person listed as the owner in the records of the cemetery district, subject to any written designation to the contrary signed by the owner and deposited with the cemetery district, or to the
owner’s successor pursuant to either this section or subdivision (a) of Section 9069.25. An interment right shall not be construed as conferring title to the property burdened by the transferable property interest.
(b)CA Health & Safety Code § 9069.20(b) The owner of record of an interment right may designate in writing the person or persons, other than the owner of record, who may be interred in the plot to which the owner holds the interment right.
(c)CA Health & Safety Code § 9069.20(c) The owner of an interment right shall, at the time of purchase, designate a successor owner or owners of the interment right in a signed written designation deposited with the district.
(d)CA Health & Safety Code § 9069.20(d) Use of an interment right transferred from the owner to a
successor pursuant to subdivision (c) shall be made in compliance with applicable provisions of state and local law, and of applicable requirements or policies established by the district board of trustees.
interment right transferable property interest cemetery plot
Section § 9069.25
If someone who owns the right to a burial plot dies without leaving clear instructions in a will or another document, that right is passed on according to the state’s rules on inheritance. If there are no living relatives to inherit the plot, the district will handle it as if it's abandoned.
If a family member inherits the burial plot, they can choose to give up this right to another relative or the relative's spouse.
(a)CA Health & Safety Code § 9069.25(a) If the owner of an interment right dies without making a valid and enforceable disposition of the interment right by a specific devise in a testamentary device, or by a written designation pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 9069.20, the interment right shall pass according to the laws of intestate succession as set forth in Sections 6400 to 6413, inclusive, of the Probate Code. In the event that the owner has no heirs at law, the district shall follow the abandonment procedures established under Section 9069.
(b)CA Health & Safety Code § 9069.25(b) A surviving spouse, registered domestic partner, child, parent, or heir who has an interment right pursuant to this section may waive that interment right in favor of any other relative of the deceased owner or spouse of
a relative of the deceased owner.
interment rights inheritance intestate succession abandonment procedures
Section § 9069.30
When a public cemetery district relies on an affidavit to transfer ownership rights or perform a burial, they aren't responsible for any claims or damages unless they knew the affidavit contained false information.
When a public cemetery district acts to transfer ownership rights or make an interment on the basis of the affidavit, given under penalty of perjury pursuant to Section 9069.35, the district, and any employee or trustee of the district, shall not be liable for any claims, losses, or damages asserted in any action unless the district had actual knowledge that the facts stated in writing are
false.
public cemetery district affidavit interment
Section § 9069.35
If someone claims to be the new owner of a burial plot or space, they must sign a written statement under oath, confirming three things:
(1) They have the right to take over the burial plot according to a specific California law.
(2) They have tried hard to find others who might have a similar or stronger claim to the plot.
(3) They do not know of any challenges to their right to the plot.
A person who purports to be the successor owner of an interment right shall execute a written affidavit declaring, under penalty of perjury, all of the following:
(a)CA Health & Safety Code § 9069.35(a) He or she is the person entitled to succeed to the interment right pursuant to Section 9069.20.
(b)CA Health & Safety Code § 9069.35(b) He or
she has exerted all reasonable efforts to find other persons who may have an equal or higher claim to succeed to the interment right.
(c)CA Health & Safety Code § 9069.35(c) He or she is unaware, to the best of his or her knowledge, of any opposition challenging his or her right to succeed to the interment right.
burial plot succession interment right transfer affidavit under penalty of perjury
Section § 9069.40
If you buy a plot in a cemetery within a district, the district must inform you in writing about your rights to use the plot for burials. They will also explain how ownership rights can be passed on to others and provide details about their rules and policies regarding the use, sale, or transfer of these rights.
Upon the sale to a person of a plot in a cemetery within a district, the district shall notify the purchaser, in writing, of any interment rights, that this chapter governs the succession of ownership of the interment rights, and the district’s duly adopted policies, rules, and regulations governing the use, sale, or other transfer of interment rights.
cemetery plot purchase interment rights ownership succession
