Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York
Who owns the cemetery plot?
My gt-gt-uncle Lawrence bought a family plot & promptly died. According to the cemetery the deed was dated Sept. 23, 1914 & his estate is still the registered owner.
Since then, 9 people have been buried in the plot, most recently in 2007.
When my gt-grandmother died (Lawrence's sister), the deed was held by my gt-grandfather, who was the next to be buried. The deed was supposed to go to my grandmother who was a minor at the time, her step-mother was to hold the deed for her until she reached 18, where if she died she was supposed to be buried with her parents.
However, my grandmother's aunt, Lawrence's sister, took possession of the deed shortly after my gt-grandfather's death to make sure it didn't fall into the step-mother's family.
Since then another sister-in-law, my great-aunt, her husband, & her son, Richard, have all been buried in the plot, Richard in 2007.
Now my question is this - since Lawrence didn't leave a will, should the plot deed go to the nearest living relative, which at this point, would be my grandmother?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Who owns the cemetery plot?
You need to go back to the original owner and trace the family line from there. This also requires examination of interim Wills, if any, to determine the current ownership. If gt, gt. uncle died without a Will, did he leave a wife and/or children? If so, their lines need to be traced and also if any of them died with Wills. If he had no one, his sisters would inherit by intestacy, and their estates need to be examined for Wills and heirs. This continues through each succeeding generation. On the practical side, all living relatives could agree on what is to happen to the remaining plots and ask the cemetray to honor their wishes. If any of the oldest generation had a Will and left their estate to a spouse, the family may have lost true ownership.
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