(a) No later than thirty (30) days prior to the sale or transfer of any cemetery required to be registered by this chapter, or the sale or transfer of a controlling interest in the cemetery company that owns the cemetery, the transferor shall notify the commissioner in writing, and:

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 46-1-107

  • 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
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • 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
  • Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Pre-need: means the time prior to death when the use of cemetery merchandise or services is not actually required. See Tennessee Code 46-1-102
  • Services: means acts performed by a cemetery company on its premises in the final interment of human remains or the installation of cemetery merchandise used in connection with final interment. See Tennessee Code 46-1-102
  • 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
  • Trust account: A general term that covers all types of accounts in a trust department, such as estates, guardianships, and agencies. Source: OCC
(1) Submit any documentation or records the commissioner may require in order to determine the amount of any indebtedness of the transferor to the pre-need merchandise and services trust account or the improvement care trust fund; and
(2) Disclose any agreements between the transferor and transferee regarding:

(A) Any existing cemetery trust accounts established pursuant to this chapter; and
(B) Assumption or disclaimer of liabilities of the transferor.
(b) Except as provided in subsection (c), the transferee shall not be entitled to a certificate of registration for the cemetery until:

(1) Subsection (a) has been complied with; and
(2) Any indebtedness of the transferor to the pre-need merchandise and services trust account or the improvement care trust fund has been liquidated.
(c) Notwithstanding indebtedness of the transferor to the pre-need merchandise and services trust account or the improvement care trust fund, the commissioner may issue a certificate of registration to the transferee, if the commissioner determines that:

(1) The sale or transfer is in the best interests of the maintenance and continued operation of the cemetery;
(2) The sale or transfer is not designed to circumvent this chapter; and
(3) The transferee has satisfactorily agreed to liquidate the indebtedness to the maximum feasible extent.
(d) The state may, for the benefit of the pre-need merchandise and services trust account or the improvement care trust fund:

(1) Recover from the transferor all sums that the transferor has not properly accounted for and paid into the fund; and
(2) Recover from the transferee all sums that the transferee has not properly accounted for and paid into the fund.
(e) The issuance of a certificate of registration under this section shall not operate to release any person, firm or corporation from any obligations to the pre-need merchandise and services trust account or the improvement care trust fund.
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