Pet Cemeteries - Cemeteries - CA Health And Safety

Section § 9700

If you own property in California, you can dedicate it to be used as a pet cemetery by recording a notarized statement with the county recorder. This statement should include how long the property will be used for this purpose. Once dedicated, the land must only be used as a pet cemetery unless a court decides otherwise. To remove the dedication, pet cemetery owners must prove in court that no pets are currently buried there or that all have been moved. Additionally, they must have permission from the pet owners or their successors to remove the dedication or relocate the pets.

The owner of property may dedicate the property to pet cemetery purposes by a notarized dedication recorded with the county recorder of the county in which the property is situated on or after January 1, 1985. The dedication document shall specify the length of time for which the dedication is made. Dedicated property shall be held and used exclusively for pet cemetery purposes, unless and until the dedication is removed from all or any part of the property by an order and decree of the superior court of the county in which the property is situated, in a proceeding brought by the pet cemetery owners for the purpose of removing the pet cemetery dedication and upon notice of hearing and proof satisfactory to the court of both of the following:

(a) That no interments were made in, or that all interments have been removed from, that portion of the property from which the dedication is sought to be removed.

(b) That the pet cemetery owners have received written authorization from those persons whose pets have been buried in the cemetery, or their heirs or assignees, to remove the dedication from their respective plots or to disinter the pet for removal to another plot location. The written authorization may or may not be given for legal consideration.

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(Amended by Stats. 1986, Ch. 263, Sec. 1.)

Section § 9701

This law ensures that if any property is dedicated as a pet cemetery, any mortgages, deeds of trust, or liens placed on it after it's dedicated won't interfere with its use as a pet cemetery. Even if the property is sold during a foreclosure, the designation as a pet cemetery remains intact, and the lien is considered secondary to the property's use as a pet cemetery.

All mortgages, deeds of trust, and other liens of any nature, hereafter contracted, placed, or incurred upon property which has been, and was at the time of the creation or placing of the lien, dedicated as a pet cemetery, or upon property which is afterwards, with the consent of the owner of any mortgage, trust deed, or lien, dedicated to pet cemetery purposes, shall not affect or defeat the dedication to pet cemetery purposes, but the mortgage, trust deed, or other lien is subject and subordinate to that dedication and any and all sales made upon foreclosure are subject and subordinate to the dedication for pet cemetery purposes.

pet cemetery mortgages deeds of trust liens property dedication foreclosure sales lien subordination trust deed property use dedication cemetery preservation property liens dedicated property lien hierarchy property sale lien agreements

(Added by Stats. 1984, Ch. 1093, Sec. 1.)

Section § 9702

This law requires that pet cemetery owners charge a maintenance fee, in addition to the burial fee, for pets buried after a specific date. The fee must be at least $25 and is collected at the time of burial. The collected fees are to be deposited into a trust fund, which is used exclusively for maintaining the pet cemetery forever.

If a dedication is made pursuant to Section 9700, the pet cemetery owners shall charge an endowment maintenance fee to persons whose pets will be buried in the cemetery on and after the date of this act, in addition to any burial fee. This maintenance fee shall be charged only at the time of the burial and shall be not less than twenty-five dollars ($25). Proceeds from these maintenance fees shall be placed by the pet cemetery owners into an endowment care or similar trust fund, the entirety of which shall be used for the perpetual maintenance of the pet cemetery.

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(Added by Stats. 1984, Ch. 1093, Sec. 1.)

Section § 9703

This California law allows a pet cemetery owner to dispose of a pet's remains if they have been left at the cemetery for more than seven days without any arrangement made for their disposal.

The cemetery must display a public notice on the premises stating this policy, so pet owners are aware that the cemetery can dispose of remains if no arrangements are made.

(a) A pet cemetery owner may dispose of the remains of any pet which has been left for more than seven days at the pet cemetery if arrangements have not been made with the pet cemetery owner for the disposition of the pet.

(b) A pet cemetery owner shall post a notice conspicuous to the public on the cemetery site stating that the remains of any pet which has been left for more than seven days at the pet cemetery may be disposed of if arrangements have not been made with the cemetery owner for the disposition of the pet.

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(Added by Stats. 1991, Ch. 490, Sec. 1.)