Full Answer
The short answer is yes, you can sue. Every so often, you hear of a case of cemetery or mortuary negligence, whether it be in the handling of the deceased person's remains, the burial, or some other issue. I am curious about some of your description. Did your father's casket come out of the ground because of the water?
Through a civil lawsuit, you and your attorney charge these facilities with malpractice or negligence in the performance of their burial duties. If they have failed to perform appropriate and respectful end-of-life services, you and your family members may be able to recover financial compensation for your losses.
Most states have established rigorous laws that specifically apply to cemeteries. Private interests in the place of burial are subject to the control of public authorities, which have the right to require the disinterment of bodies if deemed necessary.
When a mortuary or funeral home breaches your trust, and fails to perform their duties properly, a legal cause of action may be the right choice. In some cases, it’s possible to sue multiple parties – the funeral home, the cemetery, and the individuals directly responsible for the errors.
Touching monuments or headstones is extremely disrespectful and in some cases, may cause damage. For example, some older memorials might be in disrepair and could fall apart under the slightest touch. Be sure to walk in between the headstones, and don't stand on top of a burial place. Be respectful of other mourners.
Can you negotiate a cemetery plot price? Technically, you can try to negotiate for a better price on a cemetery plot. After all, cemetery plots are just another piece of real estate, subject to the whims of the market.
If the deceased owner did not specifically devise (gift) the family plot in his or her will to someone and did not transfer the family plot to the cemetery in order to make the family plot inalienable, the deceased owner's heirs (often a surviving spouse and/or surviving children) inherit the plot.
The simplest answer to whether you can move a grave to another cemetery is yes.
Is the burial plot in a cemetery? If so the cemetery office or the local council should be able to tell you who owns the plot. Dependent on when the plot was first opened (ie first burial if more than one person in the grave) ownership may have reverted to the local council.
The average cost of a standard flat headstone is around $1,000. But more detailed, upright headstones can cost between $1,000 and $3,000, as you'll see with this granite headstone and another at a higher price point.
Memorials. The person named on a Deed as owner of Exclusive Right of Burial in a grave also has the right to have a memorial erected on that grave. Responsibility for any memorial erected on a grave lies with the person named on the Deed pertaining to it.
This is usually after several decades and depends on the cemetery. Think of it like a lease - the lease on the plot may run out in 20 years, in which case they may offer the opportunity to renew the lease.
Unfortunately, there may be no way to guarantee a gravesite will remain undisturbed forever. You can look up local ordinances and find cemeteries that allow graves to be held in perpetuity. But over decades and centuries, the world around us changes. And so do laws and finances.
The person whose name is on the grant deed is the one who has the power to have a headstone installed. This is sometimes the designated next-of-kin. But it may also be the name of the person who has been named executor of the deceased's will.
The costs for exhuming the grave may cost $3,000-$5,000 for the exhumation itself. If you need to have a funeral director at the exhumation, that may cost $1,000 or more. You will also need to pay for the disposal of the previous casket if you are keeping the biological remains and not the casket.
A headstone should only be removed from the graveyard by a community-based group or local official acting within the limits of local and state law or operating with the knowledge of the descendants of the deceased. In most circumstances, it is preferable to repair a headstone rather than remove it.
A real estate lawyer should be retained. Im sorry, but our firm only handles cemetery abuse cases. The answer does not create an attorney/client relationship and is for informational purposes only. Lassen Law Firm...
You would need a real estate attorney. If you purchased 22 lots then you would have them deeded and they would be part of a public record. I hope you have more proof than the cemetery's verbal acknowledgment. If you have any additional questions, feel free to contact us for a free initial consult...
You will want a real estate attorney with experience in civil litigation. You will also want to provide the attorney with as much information as possible, including whether there are any unique characteristics about the 22 plots, as well as the deeds and contracts of sale.
Whenever you are planning to pursue compensation in the civil courts, it may help to have a lawyer on your side who has treaded similar waters before. When you are planning to sue a funeral home for negligence, it may be a good idea to use the services of a funeral home negligence lawyer.
When you choose to routinely handle the remains of somebody’s recently-deceased loved one, you are in one of the most sensitive professions that there are. Negligence in this capacity can be especially painful to the victims.
The nature of the negligence that befell your family may impact any awards granted to you by a jury or via a settlement. In funeral home abuse cases, possible awards include coverage for:
The Law Offices of Wolf & Pravato represent victims in funeral home negligence cases in South Florida. We can provide you responsive and caring representation during this difficult time.
Individual civil lawsuits, A class action lawsuit, or. A fraud/bad faith claim. Through a civil lawsuit, you and your attorney charge these facilities with malpractice or negligence in the performance of their burial duties.
When a mortuary or funeral home breaches your trust, and fails to perform their duties properly, a legal cause of action may be the right choice. In some cases, it’s possible to sue multiple parties – the funeral home, the cemetery, and the individuals directly responsible for the errors.
The Basic Laws Pertaining to Cemeteries. Americans have a hard time dealing with dying and death and often only deal with estate planning, elder care planning and selection of funeral arrangements when they have no choice, e.g. when death is imminent or already has occurred. The result can be both frustrating and expensive as people are required ...
Some additional reasons for exercising the police power regarding the regulation of cemetery locations are: the public welfare in general. whether the establishment of a cemetery might disarrange the location of streets and highways and adversely affect civic enterprise. the prosperity of the community.
When the use is terminated and the cemetery abandoned, there is a reverter to the original donors or their legal representatives, free of such use . This rule applies to both statutory and common-law dedications.
Cemeteries can be the place where the final ceremonies of death are observed. These ceremonies or rites differ according to cultural practice and religious belief. The establishment of a cemetery involves the process of formally designating a tract of land for use for the burial of the dead.
A state may regulate the location of cemeteries through the exercise of its police power by statute directly regulating the location of cemeteries. In California, see Laurel Hill Cemetery v. San Francisco, 216 U.S. 358 (U.S. 1910).
Definitions: A cemetery is a place where dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. It is a locale set aside, either by governmental authority or private enterprise. A public cemetery is open for use by the community at large while a private cemetery is used only by a small segment of a community or by a family.
Put simply having a cemetery next door can radically reduce the value of property since many buyers do not want to live next to cemetery.