(a) A record shall be kept of every burial in the cemetery of the cemetery company, showing the date of burial and name of the person buried, together with the designation of lot or space in which the burial was made. In addition, the cemetery company shall keep records showing the date of the sale, the contract number, the name of the purchaser, and the amount of the sale to be held for inclusion in the improvement care trust fund and the date of the receipt of any payment on the sale, all on a form approved by the commissioner. The cemetery company shall also keep records showing the full amount received for installation of each commodity and the full amount deposited into the improvement care trust fund for memorial care of each commodity, identified by lot owner and decedent occupying the grave space. The identical information is required if deposits to the improvement care trust fund are made on a collection basis. All sales records, trust fund records, accounting records, and all other records of the cemetery company shall be available at its principal place of business or principal office in this state, and shall be readily available at all reasonable times for examination or inspection by the commissioner or the commissioner’s authorized representatives.
lawyer at desk

Ask a business law question, get an answer ASAP!
Thousands of highly rated, verified business lawyers.
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 46-1-111

  • Cemetery: means any land or structure in this state dedicated to and used, or intended to be used, for interment of human remains. See Tennessee Code 46-1-102
  • Cemetery company: means an individual, partnership, corporation, or association, now or hereafter organized, owning or controlling cemetery lands or property and conducting the business of a cemetery. See Tennessee Code 46-1-102
  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of commerce and insurance. See Tennessee Code 46-1-102
  • Commodity: includes , but is not limited to, memorials consisting of permanent monuments or gravemarkers of marble, granite or bronze, bronze plaques, or bronze vases, and foundations or footings of the memorials. See Tennessee Code 46-1-102
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Decedent: A deceased person.
  • grave space: means a space of ground in a cemetery used or intended to be used for interment, the beautification of the ground, or the memorialization of the deceased person. See Tennessee Code 46-1-102
  • Improvement care: means the continual maintenance of the cemetery grounds and graves in keeping with a properly maintained cemetery, including cutting of grass, raking and cleaning of cemetery plots at reasonable intervals, and pruning of shrubs and trees. See Tennessee Code 46-1-102
  • Interment: means any lawful disposition of the remains of a deceased person as provided by law. See Tennessee Code 46-1-102
  • Interment right: means the right to inter human remains in a particular space in a cemetery, including, but not limited to a grave space, mausoleum crypt, niche, memorial bench, or scattering garden. See Tennessee Code 46-1-102
  • Memorial care: includes , but is not limited to, resetting or straightening tipped commodities, replacing damaged commodities, and providing for the general maintenance of commodities. See Tennessee Code 46-1-102
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) A record shall be kept of every interment site or interment right sold to a consumer. The record required under this section shall contain a detailed description of the location of the interment site or interment right sold.
(c) Any consumer purchasing an interment site or interment right in a cemetery located in this state shall receive from the cemetery company at the time of purchase a copy of the executed purchase contract. If a specific interment site is selected by the consumer at the time the purchase contract is executed, the contract shall contain a detailed description of the location of the interment site purchased.
(d) After January 1, 2007, all cemetery companies applying for and obtaining a new registration in accordance with § 46-1-103 shall develop and maintain a map of the cemetery detailing the location of interment sites. For all cemetery companies registered January 1, 2007, a map must be developed and maintained for all interment sites newly developed or planned for development before the sites may be made available for sale to consumers.
(e) All records required to be kept under this section shall be considered as part of the cemetery, and shall be included in any sale or transfer of the cemetery. All burial and interment rights records, including copies of contracts for the sale of lots, shall be retained indefinitely. All other records shall be retained for at least ten (10) years, unless the commissioner approves a shorter period of retention.
  Previous section
Next section  
 Part 1 Contents