Go to Jeff Salisbury LWGate Home Page.From: "J. Morgan" <jmorgan@ecentral.com>
Subject: CA state law re cemetery plots
Date: Wed, 8 Jul 1998 11:47:06 -0600
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Here's something I ran into recently which may be of interest to those who own cemetery plots in the state of California: My father owned two plots, let's call them A and B for simplicity. My mother and brother are buried in plot A. Dad passed away last October, and he was also interred in plot A. Plot B remains vacant. Plot B was assessed by the estate appraiser at $2150. Imagine my surprise when I was told by both the cemetery and my attorney that I *cannot* sell or dispose of the vacant plot B. I am free to *use* it, but I live halfway across the country with my own family, and do not intend to go back to CA to be buried. The vacant plot B, because it was not specifically bequeathed in my father's will, remains part of the "family plot" for eternity, according to the California Health and Safety code. The way I see it, this is a $2150 hole in the ground that now "belongs" to my sister and I as sole beneficiaries, yet we cannot sell it; we cannot even *give* it away to a church or other charity. We can use it, or let it sit. I don't know how other states treat this situation, but the lesson I've learned a little too late is to include a specific devise in the will so that beneficiaries can dispose of the plot should they so choose. - -- Jeff Morgan Last night I was laying there looking up at the stars, and I thought.... Hey! Where's my ceiling?! - -
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