Cemeteries, Crematories, and Final Disposition Law
This domain tests the law of the ground itself: who may bury, who may cremate, and how remains are moved after burial.
Cemeteries
- Cemetery corporations are organized under M.G.L. c. 114; a lot owner holds a burial right subject to the cemetery's recorded rules and regulations.
- Perpetual care funds must be maintained and used for maintenance, not operations; interment records must be kept.
- No interment without a burial permit. Disinterment requires authorization from the local board of health, the cemetery, and the lot owner - or a court order where heirs dispute it.
Crematories and final disposition
- Crematories operate under licensure and Board and DPH oversight, with identification procedures at every transfer, an approved container, and removal of pacemakers and other hazardous implants before retort.
- Cremation requires medical examiner authorization and the statutory waiting period after death, in addition to the disposition permit.
- Scattering on private land requires the owner's consent; public land and waters are restricted. Cremated remains may be buried, entombed, or retained, but not simply abandoned.
Worked example. A family wants to disinter a parent and move the remains to another state. The funeral director coordinates but does not authorize: the local board of health permit, cemetery consent, and the lot owner's written authorization are required, and if a sibling objects, a court order resolves it before any exhumation.
Traps that cost marks. Treating a cremation authorization as a burial permit; skipping the medical examiner; assuming a lot owner may disinter unilaterally; assuming scattering is unregulated.