Private Re-Sale of Interment Rights

New provincial legislation now permits the private sale of interment rights under the proclamation of the Funeral, Burial, and Cremation Services Act (2002) of Ontario (“FBCSA”). Cemetery operators were provided with the choice of either permitting or prohibiting the private re-sale of interment rights. While Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries has made the decision to permit the private sale, there are specific conditions and steps required to ensure the transfer of ownership is officially registered in the cemetery’s records. In order to re-sell interment rights privately, a rights holder must follow a specific procedure, complete the appropriate paperwork, and register the re-sale or transfer on the cemetery records.

 

The following identifies the required conditions, the options available to you and the process you will need to follow at MPGC:

Required Conditions:

1. The interment rights have been paid in full;
2. An Interment Rights Certificate has been issued by MPGC to the Rights Holder;
3. No burials, entombments or memorials have taken place within any of the graves, niches or crypts identified on the Interment Rights Certificate: If any of the graves, niches or crypts have been memorialised the memorial must be removed.

 

Options Available to the Interment Rights Holder

Provided the above conditions have been met the Rights Holder may, at any time:

1. Transfer the interment rights back to MPGC, or
2. Sell the interment right privately - Ontario legislation requires that the interment right cannot be sold or transferred for an amount greater than the value of a comparable interment right on the current cemetery price list. In either scenario, the interment right cannot be sold or transferred for an amount greater than the value of a comparable interment right on the current cemetery price list.

The Process

1. Transferring the interment rights back to MPGC
1. The Rights Holder informs MPGC of his/her desire to transfer the interment rights back to MPGC;
2. MPGC identifies the refund  amount and requests written consent from all Rights Holders;
3. Should the Rights Holder(s) wish to proceed and written consent is provided, MPGC will issue the refund amount to the Rights Holder (or, if there is more than one Rights Holder, the amount divided equally among the Rights Holders registered on the cemetery records, unless otherwise directed by all of the Rights Holders).
   
   
2. Selling the interment rights privately

The private sale of the interment rights will be recognised by MPGC when the following has been completed:

1. The Rights Holder (seller) registered on the cemetery records returns the current Interment Rights Certificate* to MPGC with an Endorsement of Sale or Transfer  document (either on the back of the Interment Rights Certificate or issued by the cemetery) completed and signed by the Right Holder(s) and the third party Transferee(s);
2. The Rights Holder pays the current MPGC administration fee;
3. If MPGC is required to restore the associated memorialization rights prior to completing the sale or transfer, a restoration fee will be charged by MPGC;
4. MPGC accepts the documentation and the transfer of ownership has been registered on the cemetery records, in accordance with the Cemetery By-laws.

 

MPGC will then issue a new Interment Rights Certificate to the transferee(s) (the “new Rights Holder(s)”) within 30 days. 

If the original Interment Rights Certificate cannot be located, MPGC may issue a duplicate Interment Rights Certificate to facilitate the sale or transfer endorsement. An administration fee may apply.

For a complete account of the process please refer to the Cemetery By-laws which can be obtained at any one of our cemetery locations or read them here.