Section 517.07 | Sale of cemetery lots.

• Effective: October 3, 2023
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly

Upon application, the board of township trustees shall sell at a reasonable price the number of lots as public wants demand for burial purposes. Purchasers of lots or other interment rights, upon complying with the terms of sale, may receive deeds for the lots or rights which the board shall execute. The township fiscal officer shall record each deed in a book the township keeps for that purpose or with the county recorder under section 317.08 of the Revised Code. The expense of recording shall be paid by the person receiving the deed. Upon the application of a head of a family living in the township, the board shall, without charge, make and deliver to the applicant a deed for a suitable lot or right for the interment of the applicant's family, if, in the opinion of the board and by reason of the circumstances of the family, the payment would be oppressive.

The terms of sale and any deed for lots executed after July 24, 1986, for an entombment, including a mausoleum, columbarium, or other interment right executed on or after September 29, 2015, may include the following requirements:

(A) The grantee shall provide to the board of township trustees, in writing, a list of the names and addresses of the persons to whom the grantee's property would pass by intestate succession.

(B) The grantee shall notify the board in writing of any subsequent changes in the name or address of any persons to whom property would descend.

(C) Any person who receives a township cemetery lot or right by gift, inheritance, or any other means other than the original conveyance shall, within one year after receiving the interest, give written notice of the person's name and address to the board having control of the cemetery, and shall notify the board of any subsequent changes in the person's name or address.

The terms of sale and any deed for any lots or rights executed in compliance with the notification requirements set forth in divisions (A), (B), and (C) of this section shall state that the board of township trustees shall have right of reentry to the cemetery lot or right if the notification requirements are not met. At least ninety days before establishing reentry, the board shall publish a notice on the board's internet web site, if applicable, and shall send a notice by certified mail to the last known owner at the owner's last known address to inform the owner that the owner's interest in the lot or right will cease unless the notification requirements are met. If the owner's address is unknown and cannot reasonably be obtained, it is sufficient to publish the notice once in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. In order to establish reentry, the board shall pass a resolution stating that the conditions of the sale or of the deed have not been fulfilled, and that the board reclaims its interest in the lot or right.

The board may limit the terms of sale or the deed for a cemetery lot or right by specifying that the owner, a member of the owner's family, or an owner's descendant must use the lot, tomb, including a mausoleum, or columbarium, or at least a portion of the lot, tomb, including a mausoleum, or columbarium, within a specified time period. The board may specify this time period to be at least twenty but not more than fifty years, with right of renewal provided at no cost. At least ninety days before the termination date for use of the cemetery lot, tomb, including a mausoleum, or columbarium, the board shall publish a notice on the board's internet web site, if applicable, and shall send a notice to the owner to inform the owner that the owner's interest in the lot or right will cease on the termination date unless the owner contracts for renewal by that date. The board shall send the notice by certified mail to the owner if the owner is a resident of the township or is a nonresident whose address is known. If the owner's address is unknown and cannot reasonably be obtained, it is sufficient to publish the notice once in a newspaper of general circulation in the county.

The terms of sale and any deed for lots or rights conveyed with a termination date shall state that the board shall have right of reentry to the lot or right at the end of the specified time period if the lot, tomb, including a mausoleum, or columbarium, is not used within this time period or renewed for an extended period. In order to establish reentry, the board shall pass a resolution stating that the conditions of the sale or of the deed have not been fulfilled, and that the board reclaims its interest in the lot or right. The board shall compensate owners of unused lots or rights who do not renew the terms of sale or the deed by offering to pay the owner eighty per cent of the purchase price or to provide another available lot or right, as applicable, at no additional cost. The board may repurchase any cemetery lot or right from its owner at any time at a price that is mutually agreed upon by the board and the owner.

Last updated September 12, 2023 at 9:50 AM

Available Versions of this Section

• December 20, 2005 – Senate Bill 107 - 126th General Assembly
• September 29, 2015 – House Bill 64 - 131st General Assembly
• September 28, 2016 – House Bill 413 - 131st General Assembly
• March 20, 2019 – Amended by House Bill 454 - 132nd General Assembly
• October 3, 2023 – Amended by House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly