Question on tombstones,grave yard and caskets in regards to law and property?
Asked by
Steve_A (
5125
)
April 6th, 2010
Captain_Fantasy had a interesting question that lead me to wonder what kind of legal/law problems would we run into if indeed we ran into having not enough space for human burial.
One solution was to simply re use the spots after they have decomposed , which is an excellent idea and logical.
But what about the grave yard itself? Who has say in that piece of land exactly?
and if I bought a tombstone and “that spot” then who are you to just take it off and re use it?
Not to mention the casket and body may not fully be decomposed (bones last a while correct?)is it fair for some one because lack of space to just go and dig up the site for space?
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13 Answers
I’m haunting the fuck out of the guy who digs me out of the ground so he can build a Starbucks.
In Alberta we have to buy a cement vault for the body and casket. Hell of a job getting those out and then getting the body to wholly decompose. Yeah, headstones are so expensive and the burrial plots cost so much- the vault was $1500. This should go in my will!
I’m not sure of the answer to that. But I think it would make sense if they rented plots of land to people. And when enough time has been given for the body to decompose and people stop visiting then it can be re used.
@faye Yes it is expensive, our family had trouble getting my grandma a tombstone for a while because of the cost and if this were problem I would be a bit angry for some one to come along and just move it or something….
Cemeteries can be moved. Chicago’s largest park, Lincoln Park, includes a former 120 acre cemetery. In the 1860s, the city decided to use the space for parkland, and removed 1000s of bodies & caskets.
There is one tomb left, apparently it was too expensive to move.
It depends on the legal deed that is held on the property. Some people in my area were dismayed when they discovered the plots they had purchased were in a cemetery that was not legally “dedicated forever” to that use, but could be – and was – rezoned.
Depends on the culture. In Bali they traditionally bury people for a year of mourning, then dig them up (they kinda dry out underground, not sure why) and have joyful public visible outdoor cremations, when the spirit is set free. In what used to be the Greek part of Turkey, they used to dig up the bones after a certain period of time, pour wine over them, and rebury them. Eventually there wasn’t much left and the space was re-used. And so on.
I think @LeotCol hit it on the head (the nail, that is). When a family has died out and is no longer part of a community, no one remembers who their dead are, or what they meant to anyone, and eventually their places become available to new dead. That can take hundreds of years or thirty, depending on the steadfastness of the family in a given locale.
@jaytkay Oh wow hah thats crazy! interesting article.
@YARNLADY Ah did not know that, but there are some dedicated forever? or is the person with the legal deed in complete control basically?
I don’t know about other countries or even states, but in my state you are NOT allowed to bury someone on your property. At all. Period. They use all kinds of laws against you if you do, despite that those laws were intended for other purposes. I would love to bury my loved ones near me. Whoever is able to do that, you are extremely fortunate.
@Steve_A it depends on the zoning laws. Some are not actually owned by the people who run the burial services, but merely leased on a permanent use permit.
But if your loved one is cremated and you take them home in the urn, then you can bury them where ever you want. We are not to spread ashes anywhere but I know of some.
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