Last week I wrote about Cemeteries. Just to refresh one thing: any cemetery, regardless of whether it is Municipally operated or not, must be licensed to act as a cemetery in accordance with the Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act which was implemented by the Provincial Government. As required, Chatham-Kent has developed by-laws that show how they will comply with the provisions of the Act.
The cemeteries that are operated by Chatham-Kent include Bothwell Cemetery, Evergreen Cemetery (Blenheim), Maple Leaf Cemetery (Chatham), Riverview Cemetery Wallaceburg), Dresden Cemetery, Sherman Cemetery (Thamesville) and all pioneer and abandoned cemeteries under the care and control of the Corporation.
What I am going to talk about this week and maybe next week are things from the Draft Cemeteries By-Law for Chatham Kent. Some of these things are not new and are already included in the existing by-laws. And while I think that there may be many similar by-laws in all cemeteries I can’t say that for sure. It would be best to contact the persons in charge of other cemeteries if you have questions.
Some people think that when they go to the Cemetery to “purchase a grave” that they are actually buying a piece of land, but that is not so…what you are purchasing is called an interment right. An interment right is the right to require or direct the interment of human remains or cremated human remains in a Grave, Lot, Niche or Crypt and direct the associated memorialization. Ownership of all Cemetery lands remains vested with the Corporation at all times. In essence, you do not own the lot; what you own the right to be interred in a lot and the right to put up some kind of monument as outlined in the bylaws.
If you choose to purchase your interment rights beforehand, you can make monthly payments over 1 or 2 years. However, you cannot use those graves until they are paid in full. If someone has died and you need to purchase interment rights, you will need to pay for the graves first.
More next week,
Marc
