MI HB4890

Cemetery owners or operators may certify burial plot rights as abandoned if the rights holder has not contacted the cemetery or provided an updated address for 60 years, no memorial has been installed, and no remains have been interred.

Before certifying a right as abandoned, cemetery owners or operators must post written notice on the plot for 120 consecutive days, send certified mail notice if an address is available, and publish notice in local newspapers if the address is unknown or mail is undeliverable.

A person whose burial plot right was certified as abandoned may request reinstatement if the plot has not been resold, or receive either a comparable replacement plot or compensation equal to the greater of their original payment or 65% of the resale price.

Cemetery owners or operators may search the internet to locate current addresses of rights holders and may publish abandonment notices on cemetery websites.

All new cemetery burial plot sale contracts entered after January 1, 2015 must include written notice explaining the 60-year abandonment presumption.