Ownership of Cemetery Lots

V.S.A. tit. 18, ch. 121, subch. 5

in effect

18 V.S.A. § 5531 Disposal of lot by will; descent; burial rights of husband and wife

5531. Disposal of lot by will; descent; burial rights of husband and wife (a) The owner of a cemetery lot may dispose of same by will to any one of the owner’s relatives who may survive the owner, or to any agency owning and conducting the cemetery in which the lot is situated, in trust, for the use and benefit of any person or persons designated in such will. When no express disposition or other mention is made in a will of a cemetery lot owned by the testator at the testator’s decease, and where the testator or any member of the testator’s family is buried, the ownership of the lot shall not pass from the testator’s lawful heirs by any residuary or other general clause of the will but shall descend to the testator’s heirs, as if the testator had died intestate. (b) A wife shall be entitled to a right of interment for her own body in any burial lot or tomb of sufficient size and space to permit such interment, of which her husband was seized at any time during coverture, which shall be exempt from the operation of the laws regulating conveyance, descent, and devise, but may be released by her in the same manner as dower. A husband shall have the same rights in the burial lot or tomb of his wife as a wife has in that of her husband. A husband or wife living separate from the other, and owning a burial lot or tomb in which the other but for this section would have no right of burial or interment, at least 30 days before the death of the other, may file with the agency conducting the cemetery in which such burial lot or tomb is located a written objection to the interment of the other and thereupon there shall be no right of interment of such husband or wife under this section. (c) The Probate Division of the Superior Court shall have jurisdiction to determine all questions arising under the provisions of this section. (d) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed as a limitation of the right of any agency owning and conducting a cemetery, either by rule and regulation, or by deed or contract, to define or limit the persons or classes of persons having the right of burial upon any lot in the cemetery of such agency, or to prohibit or restrict the resale of any such lot or burial space. Amended 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 149, eff. Feb. 1, 2011; 2023, No. 6, § 187, eff. July 1, 2023.

18 V.S.A. § 5532 Escheat of cemetery lots—Definition

5532. Escheat of cemetery lots—Definition For the purposes of sections 5532-5537 of this title, the term “agency” shall mean town cemeteries, religious or ecclesiastical society cemeteries, and any person, firm, corporation, or unincorporated association engaged in the business of a cemetery.

18 V.S.A. § 5533 Escheat when owner’s whereabouts unknown

5533. Escheat when owner’s whereabouts unknown When the whereabouts of a person or his or her heirs, having legal title or color of title to a wholly unoccupied burial lot in any cemetery has been unknown for 20 years, such lot shall escheat to the agency upon petition brought by the agency and hearing and judgment had thereon as provided in sections 5534-5537 of this title.

18 V.S.A. § 5534 Petition; hearing

5534. Petition; hearing The cemetery commissioners or other proper officers may file a petition on behalf of the agency with the Probate Division of the Superior Court of the district where said agency is located for an inquisition in the premises. The Probate Division of the Superior Court shall then appoint a time and place of hearing and deciding on such petition, and cause a notice thereof to be published in some newspaper circulating in the vicinity where the cemetery is located. Amended 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 238a, eff. Feb. 1, 2011; 2023, No. 6, § 188, eff. July 1, 2023.

18 V.S.A. § 5535 Notice; publication

5535. Notice; publication Such notice shall recite the substance of the facts set forth in the petition, and the time and place at which persons claiming the burial lot may appear and be heard before the court, and shall be published at least three weeks successively, the last of which publications shall be not less than six months before the time appointed by the court for making the inquisition.

18 V.S.A. § 5536 Order

5536. Order If sufficient cause is not shown to the contrary, at the time appointed for that purpose, the court shall order and decree that such lot shall escheat to the agency.

18 V.S.A. § 5537 Heirs

5537. Heirs If an heir or other person entitled to such lot appears within 17 years after the date of such decree and files a claim with the Probate Division of the Superior Court that made such decree, and establishes a claim to such lot, the heir or other person shall have possession of the same, or if sold, the agency shall be accountable for the avails of such sale, without interest, to the persons entitled thereto, after deducting charges and costs incurred by the agency in connection therewith. A claim not made within 17 years shall be barred. Amended 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 238a, eff. Feb. 1, 2011; 2023, No. 6, § 189, eff. July 1, 2023.

Source: Vermont General Assembly (legislature.vermont.gov)URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/chapter/18/121Fetched: 10/21/2026