(a) Purchase.
(1) Persons desiring to purchase lots are invited to visit the cemetery and make their selections. The Village representative will point out lots for sale and give information as to prices. Lots will not be sold in unplatted ground, nor before the price for the section is fixed by Village Council.
(2) All persons owning burial lots shall hold them subject to the Rules and Regulations of the cemetery now in existence or as the same may be amended by from time to time by the Village Council.
(b) Interment Rights of Plot Owners.
(1) All plots or burial sites conveyed to individuals are presumed to be the sole and separate property of the person named in the deed of conveyance. If a plot or site is conveyed in joint and survivorship form to persons (whether or not they are married), then any burial site in said plot unused after the death and burial of the first joint owner, shall be considered the sole and separate property of the surviving joint owner.
(2) The owner or owners of record may assign or transfer ownership of any unused burial sites in a plot. During the owner’s lifetime, the owner(s) may designate who may be interred in any such burial site.
(3) Unused burial sites shall be considered the personal property of the owner or owners as shown on the records of ownership maintained by the Village. On the death of the last named owner as shown on the records maintained by the Village, ownership shall be presumed to have passed through the estate of the deceased owner, either being conveyed by specific bequest in the decedent’s Will, as part of the decedent’
(c) Transfer and Assignment.
(1) No transfer or assignment of any burial space or interest therein shall be valid unless the same shall be first approved in writing by an officer of the Village. The original deed of conveyance must be returned to the Village with the request for assignment. If the original deed of conveyance cannot be located, an affidavit signed by all surviving owners of the burial space or plot, or if no surviving owners, by the Executor or Administrator or Commissioner appointed by the Probate Court of the deceased owner’s estate, or by such other person who establishes by evidence satisfactory to the Village and its legal counsel that said person has authority to assign or transfer said burial space, must be filed stating that said original deed of conveyance cannot be found. The Village shall then issue a new deed of conveyance to the new owner or owners.
(2) A written statement with a notarized signature is required for all transfers of ownerships. The transfer of ownership shall be subject to a transfer fee, as provided in the Village schedule of charges for transfer.
(d) Transfers from Deceased Lot Owners.
(1) Transfers of graves from the estates of deceased lot owners shall be effected in the following manner; the executor or administrator shall present the original deed for cancellation. He/she shall also present an Order of Distribution from the Probate Court designating the graves to be distributed to each heir named in the Order, together with a Release from Inheritance Tax issued by the Department of Taxation.
(2) If the person or persons shown as Owners in the Village records of any unused lots or burial sites are deceased, no further burials in said unused sites shall be permitted until said used sites are properly transferred on the Village records, following the procedures set forth in the preceding section entitled "Transfer and Assignment".
(3) Should an emergency arise that results in a request to use a previously deeded but unused burial site, and all of the owners of record are deceased and said available burial site has not yet been transferred as set forth above, the Mayor or acting Mayor of the Village shall have absolute discretion to refuse further burials until the transfer is completed, or to permit the burial to proceed subject to the following terms and conditions.
A. Evidence shall be provided that is satisfactory to the Village and its legal counsel that the transfer or assignment of said unused burial site is in process and will be completed.
B. The Mayor or acting Mayor of the Village shall have the right in his or her sole discretion to require the posting of a bond (in cash or with sureties satisfactory to the Village), and in an amount to be determined by the Mayor or acting Mayor and the Village legal counsel. The bond, if one is required, shall be in an amount sufficient to pay costs, including legal expenses incurred by the Village should a dispute over the right to use said available but untransferred burial site arise before the transfer is completed; the cost or probable cost of disinterment and re-interment of the deceased; and the cost of setting or resetting any stones or monuments should a dispute arise requiring said disinterment, etc.
(e) Change of Address. It shall be the duty of the plot owners to notify the Village of any change in their post office address. Notice sent to a plot owner at the last address on file in the office of the Village shall be considered sufficient and proper legal notification.
(Ord. 00-35. Passed 10-17-00.)