Commonly Asked Questions
Benches
Yes, you can. While upright memorials are not allowed on burial spaces, devotion benches can be placed on walkways that run throughout the cemetery, or in special areas set aside for beautification. We can show you potential locations, and provide an array of bench designs.
Grave Openings
- Discuss the order for interment with the funeral director
- Examine the record of the lot owner to determine ownership.
- Check the permanent files for any special instructions issued by the lot owner or any affidavits affecting the interment.
- Meet with the lot owner and next of kin to secure authorization for the interment, and discuss lot owner’s plans for the use of his or her burial property in the future.
- Make the entry in the funeral order book.
- Prepare the interment order.
- Prepare any supporting affidavits as needed.
- Record the interment register.
- Prepare the interment card for the deceased.
- Make an entry of the interment on the record of the lot owner.
- Record the interment in the lot owner’s register.
- Check all papers in connection with the funeral.
- Make the interment notation in the plat book.
- Prepare invoice and cash receipts journal entry.
- Prepare instruction for backhoe operator.
- Locate the interment space.
- Lay out the exact boundaries of the interment space.
- Have second person perform a verification of the location.
- Deliver to the interment site:
- Cardboard and plywood to protect surrounding memorials
- Hand tools
- Snow removal or grass cutting equipment
- Tarps
- Dirt trailers
- Remove memorial or corner markers as necessary.
- Excavate the interment space
- Haul away surplus dirt.
- Dispose of excess dirt and level dumping area.
- Deliver special equipment as needed (air compressors, pumps, etc.).
- Haul away that equipment.
- Deliver lowering device, grass, and tent to interment site. (optional)
- Set up such equipment.
- Remove snow from roadways as needed for delivery of burial vault and any special equipment.
- Wait for, meet, and assist truck driver delivering burial vault.
- Remove snow from roadways as needed for funeral service.
- Prepare and deliver temporary bronze memorial to site as needed.
- Attendant directs traffic for funeral service.
- Attendant helps with carrying and arranging flowers.
- Attendant directs and assists pall bearers.
- Attendant lowers casket into burial vault.
- Waiting time of attendant.
- Attendant directs traffic away from cemetery after funeral service.
- Remove lowering device, grass and tent.
- Attendant seals the burial vault.
- Fill in and tamp the interment space.
- Replace sod or sew grass on the interment space.
- Rearrange flowers atop the fresh grave.
- Re-install memorial as necessary.
- Haul lowering device, grass and tent away from the interment site.
- Dry grass and tent as needed.
- Test lowering device for the next interment.
- Remove dead flowers within a week or ten days.
- Dispose of the dead flowers and wire.
- Remove excess dirt, or deliver additional dirt as needed to level grave.
- Complete Health Department permit, and file with the State.
- Give location of interment to friends and relatives when requested.
- Thousands of dollars worth of equipment are necessary to provide an interment.
- Dump carts
- Tractor to pull dump carts
- Hand tools
- Backhoe
- Lowering device
- Service tent
- Artificial Grass
- Chairs
- Computer for records
- Snow removal equipment
- Cut grass, trim, remove snow from roadways to facilitate visits forever after.
Cremation
Most families wish to create a “Point of Remembrance” and therefore choose to inter the cremated human remains (cremains) in a cemetery. This allows a focal point for spouse, children and grandchildren to visit, place flowers and learn about their heritage.
There are numerous cremation options available at Rest Haven Memorial Gardens:
You may direct the cremains to be buried in an unused burial space owned by you.
You may have the cremains buried on top of an existing adult grave space by purchasing a second right of interment for that space.
You may purchase a special cremation memorial with a below ground receptacle for the cremains.
Cremated Human remains may be kept at home. Through only a few families feel comfortable with this. Some families will hold the cremains to be placed in the casket of the spouse in the future (cemetery must be notified for this to occur).
Some families scatter part or all of the remains.
Some bury some of the remains to have a point of remembrance and scatter the rest.
Some families bury most of the remains and place small portions in specially designed remembrance jewelry to be retained by family members.
(Prior to any scattering we recommend that you check local municipal ordnances and/or State or National Park laws to avoid possible fines or other penalties.)
Pre-Need
When you plan ahead, you will be able to compare the many options available. You will be able to compare the services, the products and the prices among different companies. You will have the opportunity to make an informed decision about your funeral and cemetery arrangements, and the form of memorial you prefer. You will be able to make choices that are meaningful to both you and your family, and you will gain peace of mind knowing your family and friends will be relieved of the emotional and financial burden often associated with making arrangements when a death occurs. In addition, costs will be “locked in”, stopping inflation in its tracks.
Transfer of Interment Rights
Yes and no. While an attorney can execute a legal transfer of the burial rights, you must keep in mind the nature of cemetery property. When burial property is needed, it is needed immediately. Even though a transfer of ownership may have been legal and proper, the cemetery needs to know about it. When a funeral director calls us to inform us of a death, the first thing we do is pull the property owner’s record. If no record exists, we must assume that a mistake has been made. The next of kin must then scramble around to produce proof of ownership. We cannot turn a shovel until the issue of ownership is resolved. This can lead to delaying the funeral. A proper transfer must be done through the cemetery office.
NO! Assuming you are the only heirs, both you and your brother own an undivided interest in all four remaining spaces. It is best for the heirs to make an appointment and come in to the cemetery office in order to make the transfers before an emergency arises.
Selling Cemetery Property
Yes, you can and to anyone you want. We have seen property sell very quickly in the newspaper, and we have seen it sell slowly. It depends on many things; however, location and price are generally the biggest issues. If you are trying to get very close to the cemetery’s selling price, they will probably move slower (making it a good deal could move them faster). Remember that the cemetery would normally include in their selling price the processing cost, deed fee and endowment care fee. When you sell property, the processing, deeding and endowment care are in addition to your selling price and are due the cemetery the day of the transfer.
Most people who have a hard time selling family cemetery property simply are asking too much. For example: if the cemetery is selling a similar 2 spaces for $1,000 and you decide to ask $800, there is not enough spread. After the purchaser pays $195-$246 in transfer, deed generation and endowment care (which could make your property MORE expensive than the cemetery’s), they might as well buy from the cemetery and select where they want. If you offer the same two spaces for $500 and have the buyer pay the fees, you might get more people’s attention. Depending on how long ago the lots were originally purchased, you might still come out ahead.
Have more questions? Call or email us and we can answer them.