Use of vacant portions of lots by not-for-profit cemetery permitted under certain circumstances; notice to potential living heirs of original purchaser; recordkeeping.

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-43-5
in effect
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The provisions of this section apply to any not-for-profit cemetery: In which a lot was sold or reserved to be used for burial plots; Only a portion of the lot has been used for burial plots; There is sufficient space for additional burial plots to be located within the same lot; The owner of the cemetery desires to use the vacant portions of the lot for additional burial plots; and There are no known heirs of the person who originally purchased or reserved the lot from whom the cemetery may obtain permission to use the vacant portions of the lot for additional burial plots. The owner of the cemetery first shall make reasonably diligent efforts to identify any living heirs of the person who originally purchased or reserved the lot. If there are any potential living heirs known to the owner of the cemetery, the owner shall mail a notice to those persons at their last known address, informing them that if they do not notify the cemetery within ninety (90) days after the date of the notice, they will be barred from objecting to the cemetery’s use of the vacant portions of the lot for additional burial plots after that time. In addition, the owner of the cemetery shall publish, for three (3) consecutive weeks in some newspaper published or having circulation in the county in which the cemetery is located, a notice that any persons having any claim of ownership to the lot in the cemetery must notify the cemetery within ninety (90) days after the first publication of the notice or they will be barred from objecting to the cemetery’s use of vacant portions of the lot for additional burial plots after that time. If any person notifies the cemetery within the time specified in subsection (2) or (3) of this section, and the cemetery determines that the person has an ownership interest in the lot, then the cemetery may not use the vacant portions of the lot for additional burial plots without the permission of that person. If no person notifies the cemetery within the time specified in subsection (2) or (3) of this section, or if the cemetery determines that a person or persons who timely notified the cemetery does not have an ownership interest in the lot, then the cemetery may use the vacant portions of the lot for additional burial plots, and no claim shall be allowed that the cemetery has used the lot without the permission of an owner of the lot. The owner of the cemetery shall maintain permanent records documenting the mailed notice and the published notice provided by the cemetery under subsections (2) and (3) of this section.

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