Cemetery Laws in Ohio
A brief review of the Ohio Revised Codes
and their Amendments
Sharing some observations
pertinent to the Ohio Revised Codes and how they affect Ohio’s Cemeteries. These codes are the laws in the State of Ohio
that can ultimately determine what kind of future our cemeteries will have.
A couple of small, but nonetheless important, key elements should be mentioned beforehand.:
1. The Ohio Revised Codes are subject to amendments
when newer laws are passed that affect them, in whole or in part, that can alter
the meaning(s) as originally stated. Thus, it is important to check the “ORCs”
regularly to learn if there are any updates to them. It is especially true for those ORCs that will be shared and cited. For example,
attorneys have interpreted the ORCs in ways that suit their needs to support
one side or the other in a dispute. So, the most
current version of an ORC is the one that needs to be used.
Note: Here is a LINK to a short explanation about the Ohio Revised Codes (AKA "ORCs").
Note: Here is a LINK to "LAWriterOhio Laws and Rules" main page where both the Ohio Revised Codes and the Ohio Administrative Codes can be found.
2. "Basically, four words that can mean the most that pertain to the cemetery laws in the Ohio Revised Codes (ORCs) are the
ones that state: “May” and “Can” instead
of “Will” and “Shall”. That is our problem and the prosecutor (which is
necessary to move forward in the courts) and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office
have been interpreting “May” and “Can” as being a Non-mandated action and a
voluntary act."
My above statement is a quote from
Mr. Dave Robertson who has been “leading the charge” with his own continual
maintenance work at the Floral Hills Memory Gardens in Ross County, Ohio, and
spearheading the enlistment of additional volunteer help.
He has been quite successful at both
endeavors for at least 7 years at this Active yet Abandoned cemetery, one which we'll discuss more about in this post.
Thus, it is important to take a moment to look at what is happening with active cemeteries, those that have burials within the past 25 calendar years, that have "fallen through the cracks" and lack
protection in ways that have been long associated with cemeteries in these categories: Inactive; Abandoned; or Family
cemeteries - those with no burials in the past 25 calendar years.
Most represented in this "Active yet Abandoned" category seem to mostly come from the growing number of cemeteries that are owned by For-Profit or Private Association
type organizations operating in Ohio.
Sadly, some of these types of cemeteries have fallen
into the hands of individuals or associations who have taken the monies they received
from lot owners who paid them in good faith for goods and services that were
not delivered as promised. Instead, these cemetery owners used the funds for
their own personal gain, even gambling them away. Some current or recent examples include: Fairview
Memorial Park in Delaware County, Ohio and Grandview Memorial Park in Portage
County, Ohio where the husband and wife former owners have been sentenced for their
crimes and are now serving time in jail.
Below is a link to a good article
that helps explain what has been happening with some of these cemeteries which had irresponsible and unethical owners who abandoned them after committing
crimes against them and the burial lot owners.:
From the “Columbus Dispatch”
Posted October 3, 1919
by Sheridan
Hendrix:
Thus, my eyes have been widely opened to this illegal activity that all Ohioans should come to understand the seriousness of these crimes that can spread to other cemeteries -- ones where our familes and friends are buried.
This is how this more recent category of Active But Abandoned cemeteries has emerged in Ohio and across America. I also use the term “Orphaned Cemeteries” because, in the end, they are left without owners.
REGISTRATION IS KEY!
These active cemeteries lose their
registration when the legal owners leave and are not there to renew them when
due.
For-Profit cemeteries and Association owned cemeteries must renew cemetery registrations yearly.
If the registration lapses due to lack of ownership, a cemetery’s
status is taken down to the level of that of the Inactive/Abandoned/Family
cemeteries with no burials during the past 25 calendar years. At this level, the Active yet Abandoned cemeteries are
not eligible to be Registered.
"(D) Sections 4767.02
to 4767.04 of the Revised Code do not
apply to or affect a family cemetery or a cemetery in which there have been no
interments during the previous twenty-five calendar years. As used in this
division, "family cemetery" means a cemetery containing the human
remains of persons, at least three-fourths of whom have a common ancestor or
who are the spouse or adopted child of that common ancestor."
Moving ahead to 2019 and the passage of HB 168; the latest amendment impacting Registrations
This requirement was strict and its stipulations illustrate just how crucial it is for a cemetery in Ohio to be Registered and retain its Registration.
See Ohio Revised Code 4767.07A “Complaints”
listed below. Note, the number of
amendments this ORC has had thus far.:
Amended by 132nd General Assembly
File No. TBD, HB 168, §1, eff. 10/29/2018.
Amended by 128th General Assembly
File No.9, HB 1, §101.01, eff. 10/16/2009.
Effective Date: 12-02-1996
Yes, many ORCs have had several
amendments since the date they became effective.
On the other hand, there still exist several
ORCs that were enacted in the early 1950s and have remained in effect as such without
any amendments. It is easy to see how many are in need of
current review because they have become outdated.
By law, the townships should be
taking over abandoned cemeteries in their jurisdiction and be responsible for them and maintain the grounds and records. However, as we have seen all too often that isn't
always the case -- at least not for as
long as they can stall off doing so.
Another aspect to consider is that once it is determined that a crime is involved,
the Ohio Cemetery Dispute Resolution Commission turns over the handling of a cemetery
dispute case to the prosecuting attorney in the county where the cemetery is
located.
It would seem that Ohio’s state
government shies away from becoming too involved with cemetery problems.
Below are some representative links to cemetery preservation websites in other states.:
Connecticut
Categorizing cemeteries in the
way the Ohio Cemetery Dispute Resolution Commision "OCDRC" has done leaves out our historic early cemeteries where the local pioneer settlers and founders of villages were buried.
Those who have complaints against
responsible parties for such cemeteries cannot submit them to the Ohio Cemetery
Dispute Resolution Commission because the cemeteries have not had a burial in
the past 25 years; or are family cemeteries – and thus they are "pigeon holed" into
the Inactive and Unregistered categories.
In Ohio, there are three basic types of
cemeteries.:
Cemetery Registration affects each type differently:
Political Subdivision/Government:
These cemeteries are typically operated by a township or municipality, or a
combination of either or both. Although this type of cemetery must be Registered, the Registration never expires.
Religious/Fraternal/Benevolent:
Registration must be renewed every
year with the Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing.
Cemetery Associations or
Companies:
Registrations for cemeteries operated by corporations or
not-for-profit cemetery associations must be renewed every year."
Thankfully in ORC 4767.07 (see below), we come to better understand how HB168 keeps an Active Cemetery from facing an uncertain fate and perhaps saves its very
existence.
"cemetery registered, or a
cemetery that is not registered but is required to be registered"
4767.01 [Effective 10/29/2018] Cemetery
registration definitions.
(3) Administer the cemetery
grant program established under section 4767.10 of the Revised Code;
(11) Establish and
maintain an investigation and audit section within the division of real estate
in the department of commerce to conduct investigations pursuant to division
(A) of section 4767.08 of the Revised Code and to audit
the financial records of a cemetery to ensure compliance with sections 1721.21 and 1721.211 of
the Revised Code at least every five years, or more often as the section deems
necessary. The investigators or auditors of the section may review and audit
the business records of cemeteries during normal business hours.
4767.07 [Effective 10/29/2018] Complaints.
(A) Any person may
file a complaint regarding the activity, practice, policy, or procedure of, or
Regarding an alleged
violation of section 1721.19,
1721.20,1721.21, 1721.211, 4735.02, 4767.02,
or 4767.09 of the revised Code by, any person operating or maintaining a cemetery registered, or a cemetery that is
not registered but is required to be registered pursuant to
section 4767.03
of the Revised Code that adversely affects or may adversely affect
the interest of an owner or family member of the owner of a cemetery lot or
burial, entombment, or columbarium right. All complaints shall be in
writing and submitted to the division of real estate in the department of
commerce on forms provided by the division.
(B) With respect to complaints
filed pursuant to division (A) of this section, the division of real estate shall
do all of the following:
(1) Acknowledge receipt of the
complaint by sending written notice to the person who filed the complaint not
more than twenty days after receipt of the complaint;
(2) Send written notice of the
complaint within seven days after receipt of the complaint to the person
responsible for the operation and maintenance of the cemetery that is the
subject of the
(3) Before taking further action,
allow the owner or the person responsible for the operation and maintenance of the
cemetery that is the subject of a complaint thirty days after the date the
division sends notice of the complaint to respond to the division with respect
to the complaint.
(C) The cemetery dispute
resolution commission shall hear each complaint filed pursuant to division (A)
of this section within one hundred eighty days after its filing, unless it has
been resolved by the parties to the complaint.
Amended by 132nd General Assembly
File No. TBD, HB 168, §1, eff. 10/29/2018.
Amended by 128th General Assembly
File No.9, HB 1, §101.01, eff. 10/16/2009.
Effective Date: 12-02-1996 .
517.27 Transfer of cemeteries
to board of township trustees.
When a public cemetery in a
township is not under the control of a municipal corporation, and the title or
control thereof is vested in an association or the trustees thereof, or is
vested in a religious society, whether incorporated or not, or in the trustees
thereof, and such cemetery is used exclusively for cemetery purposes, such
association, society, or the trustees thereof may convey such grounds to the
board of township trustees and its successors in office. Subject to the rights
of the original grantor, his heirs or assigns, the board shall accept and take
possession of such grounds, and take care of, keep in repair, hold, treat, and
manage them in all respects as required by sections 517.01 to 517.32, inclusive, of the
Revised Code.
517.10 Title to certain burial
grounds vested in board of township trustees.
The title to, right of
possession, and control of all public cemeteries located outside any municipal
corporation, which have been set apart and dedicated as public cemeteries, and
any grounds which have been used as such by the public, but not expressly
dedicated as a cemetery, except such as are owned or under the care of a
religious or benevolent society, or an incorporated company or association, or
under the control of the authorities of any municipal corporation, shall,
severally be vested in the board of township trustees.
Effective Date: 10-01-1953
The board of township trustees
shall provide for the protection and preservation of cemeteries under its
jurisdiction, and shall prohibit interments therein when new grounds have been
procured for township cemeteries or burial grounds. Where such old cemeteries
are in or near village plats, and the public health is liable to be injured by
further interments therein, the board shall institute suits to recover
possession thereof, remove trespassers therefrom, and may recover damages for
injuries thereto or any part thereof, or to any fence or hedge enclosing them,
or to any tomb or monument therein.
The board may enclose cemeteries
under its jurisdiction with a substantial fence or hedge, and shall keep any
such fence or hedge in good repair. It may re-erect any fallen tombstones,
regardless of the cause of the falling, in such cemeteries. The board, as it
considers necessary, may purchase, maintain, and improve entombments, including
mausoleums, columbariums, and other interment rights. The board may levy a tax
to meet any costs incurred for these purposes, not to exceed one-half mill in
any one year, upon all the taxable property of the township.
Amended by 131st General Assembly File No. TBD, HB 413, §1, eff.
9/28/2016.
Effective Date: 07-24-1986 .
1301:13-7-03 Grant
applications.
(A) Grant applications shall be submitted on forms prescribed by the
division and shall bear the original signature of the principal administrative
officer or financial officer of the applicant.
(B) All grant applications shall include, at a minimum, the following
documents and information:
(1) Federal tax identification number;
(2) Internal revenue service tax exempt certificate, if applicable;
(3) Contact information for the fiscal representative of the applicant;
(4) Contact information for the programmatic representative of the
applicant, if different than fiscal representative;
(5) The acreage of the cemetery, how much acreage is fully developed
and at capacity and how much acreage has inventory of available interment
spaces;
(6) Number of interments made in the two previous years;
(7) The operating budget of the cemetery;
(8) Designation of the percentage of the estimated total cost of the
project for which the grant will provide funding;
(9) Description of how the applicant will provide the remainder of the
estimated total cost of the project, if applicable;
(10) Project description and purpose along with the goals of the
project;
(11) Description of training, including agenda, syllabus or other
content material, how the training relates to the maintenance and operations of
cemeteries, name and contact information of the provider, if applicable;
(12) How grant funds will be accounted for separately from other
sources of funding, if applicable;
(13) Additional information as required by the division as set forth in
its grant guidelines.
(C) In addition to submitting a grant application, all applicants must
submit an original W-9 form to the division.
(D) All completed grant applications must be received by the prescribed
deadline.
(E) Incomplete or illegible applications, or applications that are not
consistent with the terms of section 4767.10 of
the Revised Code and this chapter, will not be considered for funding.
Effective: 6/7/2019
Real Estate Land Code is 690 for graveyards, monuments, and cemeteries.
Too much history has already been
lost
because our cemeteries have become neglected, lost, and forgotten.
The life stories
of those buried in them remain untold.
Further, it is sad to know that it may not
take 25 years for an active cemetery to resemble in appearance a typical
inactive cemetery that is over a 100 years old which will happen if it does not keep receiving
necessary proper maintenance.
The language of current cemetery
laws need strengthening. New ones need
to be enacted and made enforceable. Otherwise, our cemeteries will not have the
bright futures they deserve.
