How does a full cemetery make money

We believe this is a clear violation of federal anti-trust and monopoly laws, but few states are paying attention. Even burial of a small urn can be very costly. It is legal in every state to bury or sprinkle cremated remains on private property with permission of the landowner.

Most states allow full body burial on private property outside city limits, but you must check the zoning requirements of your municipality and get the necessary permits first. Burial plot The most common offering is the single plot that holds one casket; in some cases, multiple urns may be allowed instead. Opening and closing fee In addition to the cost of the grave, the cemetery will charge an opening and closing fee at the time of burial.

Vault A vault completely encloses the casket in the grave; it can be made of concrete, steel or lightweight fiberglass-type materials. Mausoleum This building has drawer-like spaces called crypts above ground for caskets. Columbarium Either a freestanding structure or part of a mausoleum, a columbarium has niches to hold urns containing cremated remains; some niches are designed to hold multiple urns.

Perpetual or endowment care A cemetery will likely charge a maintenance fee to cover upkeep of the graves and grounds.

Veterans Burials are free for vets and their spouses in national veterans cemeteries and free or nearly free in many state-run ones. Your rights Unlike funeral homes, cemeteries are not required by law to give you a printed price list before you buy, and no federal regulations give cemetery customers the right to buy only the services and merchandise they want.

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Best student credit cards. Best starter credit cards. The best online brokerages for beginners. The best investment apps. The best stock trading apps. Best robo advisors. Average stock market return. Car insurance. Life insurance. Best cheap car insurance. Best life insurance companies. But a cemetery might also offer additional maintenance services to customers who want something more. For example, you could pay the cemetery a monthly or yearly fee to maintain flowers planted on the grave of your loved one.

Cemeteries can still monetize some of their services, like specialized gravesite and headstone maintenance, after the cemetery stops accepting new clients.

But there are also some additional methods of staying open that cemeteries put to use when they run out of usable space. Each state has different regulations and requirements when it comes to cemetery operations. But most legislation requires cemetery owners to dedicate a percentage of their profits or sales to a perpetual care fund.

For those reasons, most cemeteries eventually run out of funds in their perpetual care trusts. Exhumations and reinterment: Ideally, a cemetery plot is a permanent and final resting place. Sometimes, though, exhumations happen.

Individual perpetual care trusts: Cemeteries are usually responsible for maintaining their own perpetual care trusts. Even cemeteries who have general perpetual care trusts might allow customers to purchase individual trusts. An individual perpetual care trust, in this case, could cover additional maintenance and ensure that your gravesite receives the best care possible. Also keep in mind that the laws regarding burial plots may be different in other countries.

People who are considering purchasing a burial plot often ask whether the plot has an expiration date before use. This is usually not the case , and when you purchase a burial plot , it is usually always yours. Until it is used by the owner, th at person own s the burial plot in perpetuity, and it can even be passed down to your next of kin. But as mentioned above, some cemeteries retain the right to reclaim the plot due to inactivity.

However, after burial plots are used, there are some instances in which they can be reused , with new headstone and new remains placed atop the existing remains. In addition to retaining the rights to reclaim an unused plot, some cemeteries may choose to reclaim plots that have been used.

This is usually after several decades and depends on the cemetery. Think of it like a lease - the lease on the plot may run out in 20 years, in which case they may offer the opportunity to renew the lease.