USA Statutes : nevada
Title : Title 40 - PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY
Chapter : CHAPTER 452 - CEMETERIES
The provisions of NRS
452.001 to 452.610 , inclusive:
1. Except NRS 452.002 , 452.030
and 452.300 , do not apply to a person maintaining a
cemetery but not operating as a cemetery authority on July 5, 1971.
2. Do not apply to cemeteries containing the remains of pets only.
(Added to NRS by 1971, 2077; A 1987, 1270; 1993, 2754; 2003, 326
)
The uninterrupted use by the public of
land for a burial ground for 5 years, with the consent of the owner and
without a reservation of his rights, is presumptive evidence of his
intention to dedicate it to the public for that purpose.
(Added to NRS by 1971, 808)
As used in NRS 452.001 to 452.610 ,
inclusive, unless the context otherwise requires, the words and terms
defined in NRS 452.004 to 452.019
, inclusive, have the meanings ascribed
to them in those sections.
(Added to NRS by 1971, 2061; A 1987, 1270; 1993, 2607, 2754; 1995,
723; 2005, 500 )
“Administrator” means the
Commissioner of Insurance.
(Added to NRS by 1971, 2061)
“Board” means the Nevada State
Funeral Board.
(Added to NRS by 1993, 2607; A 2003, 1280 )
“Buyer” means the purchaser of a
prepaid contract, as that term is defined in NRS 689.475 .
(Added to NRS by 1971, 2062; A 1987, 1270)
“Cemetery” means any enclosure
or plot of land that is or may be used for the burial of the dead and
includes an individual plot.
(Added to NRS by 2005, 499 )
“Cemetery authority”
means any individual, partnership, corporation, association or cemetery
district owning or controlling cemetery lands or property and engaged in
the operation of a cemetery business in this state.
(Added to NRS by 1971, 2062)
“Health Division” means
the Health Division of the Department of Health and Human Services.
(Added to NRS by 1971, 2062; A 1973, 1406)
“Sales commission” means
that portion of the purchase price paid to or retained by the seller as
compensation in connection with the sale of a prepaid contract.
(Added to NRS by 1971, 2062)
“Seller” means any person selling a
prepaid contract.
(Added to NRS by 1971, 2062)
The Administrator may
adopt such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the purposes and
provisions of NRS 452.001 to 452.610
, inclusive, which relate to endowment
care.
(Added to NRS by 1971, 2065; A 1993, 2608, 2754; 1995,
723)—(Substituted in revision for NRS 452.400)
The Board may adopt reasonable
regulations, suitably designed to protect the public, for those aspects
of the operation of a cemetery which are not governed by the regulations
of the Commissioner of Insurance pertaining to endowment care.
(Added to NRS by 1993, 2607)
The Administrator and the Board shall cooperate
in the performance of their respective duties pursuant to this chapter
and shall exchange any information, statistics or data in their records
that is necessary to carry out those duties.
(Added to NRS by 1993, 2607)
Maintenance and Endowment Care of Cemetery
Every owner of a cemetery shall keep
the same in an orderly condition, and authority is conferred on the board
of county commissioners of each county to make such rules as will carry
out the intent of this section.
[3:166:1913; 1919 RL p. 2644; NCL § 977]
1. Every cemetery authority operating a cemetery which is not
exempt pursuant to subsection 2 shall place its cemetery under endowment
care and establish, maintain and operate an endowment care fund after
having first applied for and received a permit from the Administrator.
2. A cemetery is exempt from the provisions of subsection 1 if:
(a) It was maintained as a cemetery on July 1, 1971; or
(b) It is owned and operated by a governmental agency, church or
benevolent or fraternal organization not operated for profit.
Ê Nothing contained in this subsection shall prohibit any cemetery
authority from electing to come under the provisions of subsection 1.
3. Endowment care and special care funds may be commingled for
investment and the income therefrom shall be divided between the
endowment care and special care funds in the proportion that each fund
contributed to the principal sum invested. The funds shall be held in the
name of the cemetery authority.
[1:138:1953]—(NRS A 1961, 116; 1971, 2073)
1. The principal of all funds for endowment care shall be invested
and the income only used for the care, maintenance and embellishment of
the cemetery, in accordance with the provisions of law and the
resolutions, bylaws, rules and regulations or other actions or
instruments of the cemetery authority, and for no other purpose.
Endowment and special care funds shall be maintained separate and
distinct from all other funds and the trustees shall keep separate
records thereof.
2. The trustee of the endowment care fund shall create a reserve
from which principal losses may be replaced by setting aside a reasonable
percentage of the income from the fund.
[2:138:1953]
The cemetery authority may from time to time
adopt plans for the general care, maintenance and embellishment of its
cemetery, and charge and collect from all subsequent purchasers of plots
such reasonable sum as, in the judgment of the cemetery authority, will
aggregate a fund, the reasonable income from which will provide care,
maintenance and embellishment.
[3:138:1953]
Upon payment of the
purchase price and the amount fixed as a proportionate contribution for
endowment care, there may be included in the deed of conveyance or by
separate instrument an agreement to use the income from such endowment
care fund for the care, maintenance and embellishment, in accordance with
the plan adopted, of the cemetery and its appurtenances to the
proportionate extent the income received by the cemetery authority from
the contribution will permit.
[4:138:1953]
Upon the
application of an owner of any plot, and upon the payment by him of the
amount fixed as a reasonable and proportionate contribution for endowment
care a cemetery authority may enter into an agreement with him to use the
income from such fund for the care of his plot and its appurtenances.
[5:138:1953]
1. The cemetery authority may appoint a board of trustees of not
less than three in number as trustees of its endowment care fund. The
members of the board of trustees shall hold office subject to the
direction of the cemetery authority.
2. The directors of a cemetery authority, if any, may be the
trustee of its endowment care fund. When the fund is in the care of the
directors as a board of trustees, the secretary of the cemetery authority
shall act as its secretary and keep a true record of all of its
proceedings.
3. No sum in excess of 5 percent of the income derived from the
fund in any year shall be paid as compensation to the board of trustees
for its services as trustee.
4. In lieu of the appointment of a board of trustees of its
endowment care fund, any cemetery authority may appoint as sole trustee
of its endowment care fund any bank or trust company qualified under the
laws of the State of Nevada to engage in the trust business.
[6:138:1953]
1. A cemetery authority which has established an endowment care
fund may take, receive and hold as a part of or incident to the fund any
property, real, personal or mixed, bequeathed, devised, granted, given or
otherwise contributed to it for its endowment care fund.
2. The endowment care fund and all payments or contributions to it
are hereby expressly permitted as and for charitable and eleemosynary
purposes. Endowment care is a provision for the discharge of a duty due
from the persons contributing to the persons interred and to be interred
in the cemetery, and a provision for the benefit and protection of the
public by preserving and keeping cemeteries from becoming unkept and
places of reproach and desolation in the communities in which they are
situated.
3. No payment, gift, grant, bequest or other contribution for
general endowment care is invalid by reason of any indefiniteness or
uncertainty of the persons designated as beneficiaries, nor is the fund
or any contribution to it invalid as violating any law against
perpetuities or the suspension of the power of alienation of title to
property.
[7:138:1953]
1. An “endowment care cemetery” is one which must have deposited
in its endowment care fund no later than 30 days following the end of the
month in which the final payment is received for the sale of a grave,
lawn crypt space, niche or mausoleum crypt not less than the following
amounts for interment spaces and memorial markers and monuments sold or
disposed of:
(a) Five dollars per square foot for each grave space.
(b) Five dollars per square foot for each lawn crypt space.
(c) Forty dollars for each single niche in a columbarium or
mausoleum.
(d) One hundred twenty-five dollars for each single adult mausoleum
crypt.
(e) One hundred twenty-five dollars for the first adult crypt of a
tandem companion mausoleum crypt.
(f) One hundred dollars for each additional crypt of a tandem
companion mausoleum crypt.
(g) Sixty dollars for each mausoleum crypt which is less than
one-half the size of an adult crypt as measured in cubic feet.
(h) A sum equal to 20 percent of the cost of each privately built
mausoleum crypt.
(i) Ten dollars per square foot for each lawn space niche.
(j) Twelve cents per square inch of top surface face for each
memorial marker and for each foundation for an upright monument.
(k) Twelve cents per square inch of top surface face for each
memorial lawn niche marker.
2. The deposits required by subsection 1 must be made not later
than 30 days after the end of the month in which the final payment for
any grave, lawn crypt space, niche or crypt is made.
[8:138:1953]—(NRS A 1971, 2073; 1989, 1088)
1. In addition to the requirements of NRS 452.120 , any endowment care cemetery hereafter
established shall also have deposited in its endowment care fund or
maintenance fund the additional sum of $25,000 or have deposited such sum
in a maintenance fund as required by NRS 452.120 before disposing or making a sale of any space
specified in NRS 452.120 .
2. When the endowment care fund or maintenance fund has $75,000 on
deposit, the initial $25,000 may be withdrawn.
3. The endowment care fund or maintenance fund once having reached
$50,000 shall not be decreased below such amount.
[9:138:1953]—(NRS A 1971, 2073)
1. A “nonendowment care cemetery” is one that does not comply with
the provisions of NRS 452.120 and
452.130 .
2. A cemetery which otherwise complies with NRS 452.120 may be designated an endowment care cemetery
even though it contains a small section which may be sold without
endowment care, if the section is separately set off from the remainder
of the cemetery and if signs are kept prominently placed around the
section designating the same as a “Nonendowment care section” in legible
black lettering at least 4 inches high. There shall be printed at the
head of all contracts, agreements, statements, receipts and certificates
of ownership or deeds referring to plots in the section the phrase
“Nonendowment care.”
3. Subsection 2 applies only to cemeteries existing on July 1,
1971.
[10:138:1953]—(NRS A 1971, 2074)
1. Each endowment care cemetery shall post in a conspicuous place
in the office or offices where sales are conducted and in a conspicuous
place at or near the entrance of the cemetery or its administration
building and readily accessible to the public, a legible sign which shall
contain the following information in the order and manner set forth below:
(a) A heading containing the words “Endowment care,” which shall
appear in a minimum of 48-point black type.
(b) This is an endowment care interment property.
2. Each nonendowment care cemetery shall post in a conspicuous
place in the office or offices where sales are conducted and in a
conspicuous place at or near the entrance of the cemetery or its
administration building and readily accessible to the public, a legible
sign which shall contain the following information in the order and
manner set forth below:
(a) A heading containing the words “Nonendowment care.”
(b) This is a nonendowment care interment property.
3. There shall be printed at the head of all contracts,
agreements, statements, receipts, literature and other publications of
nonendowment care cemeteries the following: “This institution is operated
as a ‘nonendowment care’ interment property.”
4. All the information appearing on the signs and report filed in
the cemetery office shall be revised annually and verified by the
president and secretary, or two officers authorized by the cemetery
authority.
[11:138:1953]
1. Endowment care funds must not be used for any purpose other
than to provide, through income only, for the reserves authorized by law
and for the endowment care of the cemetery in accordance with the
resolutions, bylaws, rules and regulations or other actions or
instruments of the cemetery authority.
2. The funds must be invested and reinvested in:
(a) Bonds of the United States;
(b) Bonds of this state or the bonds of other states;
(c) Bonds of counties or municipalities of any state;
(d) With the approval of the Administrator, first mortgages or
first trust deeds on improved real estate;
(e) Deposits in any bank, credit union or savings and loan
association that is federally insured or insured by a private insurer
approved pursuant to NRS 678.755 ; or
(f) With the written approval of the Administrator, any investment
which would be proper under the provisions of NRS 164.700 to 164.775 ,
inclusive.
Ê Pending investment as provided in this subsection, such funds may be
deposited in an account in any savings bank, credit union or savings and
loan association which is qualified to do business in the State of Nevada
and which is federally insured or insured by a private insurer approved
pursuant to NRS 678.755 .
3. Each cemetery authority operating an endowment care cemetery
shall submit to the Administrator annually, on a form prescribed and
adopted by the Administrator, a financial statement of the condition of
its endowment care fund. The statement must be accompanied by a fee of
$10. If the statement is not received by the Administrator, he may, after
giving 10 days’ notice, revoke the cemetery authority’s certificate of
authority.
[12:138:1953]—(NRS A 1960, 337; 1971, 2074; 1983, 139; 1987, 1270;
1999, 1498 ; 2003, 1982 )
1. A cemetery authority which has established an endowment care
fund may also take and hold any property bequeathed, granted, or given to
it in trust to apply the principal, or proceeds, or income to either or
all of the following purposes:
(a) Improvement or embellishment of all or any part of the cemetery
or any lot in it.
(b) Erection, renewal, repair or preservation of any monument,
fence, building, or other structure in the cemetery.
(c) Planting or cultivation of trees, shrubs or plants in or around
any part of the cemetery.
(d) Special care or ornamenting of any part of any plot, section or
building in the cemetery.
(e) Any purpose or use not inconsistent with the purpose for which
the cemetery was established or is maintained.
2. The sums paid in or contributed to the fund authorized by this
section are hereby expressly permitted as and for a charitable and
eleemosynary purpose. Such contributions are a provision for the
discharge of a duty due from the persons contributing to the person or
persons interred or to be interred in the cemetery, and likewise a
provision for the benefit and protection of the public by preserving,
beautifying, and keeping cemeteries from becoming unkept and places of
reproach and desolation in the communities in which they are situated. No
payment, gift, grant, bequest, or other contribution for such purpose is
invalid by reason of any indefiniteness or uncertainty of the persons
designated as beneficiaries in the instruments creating the fund, nor is
the fund or any contribution to it invalid as violating any law against
perpetuities or the suspension of the power of alienation of title to
property.
[13:138:1953]
1. It is unlawful for a cemetery authority, its officers,
employees or agents, or a seller or agent certified or licensed pursuant
to NRS 689.450 to 689.595 , inclusive, to represent that an endowment
care fund or any other fund set up for maintaining care is perpetual or
permanent, or to sell, offer for sale or advertise any plot under
representation that the plot is under endowment care, before an endowment
care fund has been established for the cemetery in which the plot is
situated. Any person violating any of the provisions of NRS 452.050
to 452.180 , inclusive, is personally liable for all
damages resulting to any person by reason of such violation, and upon
conviction thereof is guilty of a misdemeanor.
2. The Administrator, for the purpose of ascertaining the assets,
conditions and affairs of any endowment care cemetery, may examine the
books, records, documents and assets of any endowment care cemetery
operating, or being organized to operate as such a cemetery, in the State
of Nevada, and may make whatever other investigations as may be necessary
to determine that the cemetery is complying fully with the provisions of
NRS 452.050 to 452.180 , inclusive.
3. If, after an examination or investigation, the Administrator
has just cause to believe that a cemetery granted a permit under the
provisions of NRS 452.050 to 452.180
, inclusive, has failed to comply with
the provisions and requirements of NRS 452.050 to 452.180 ,
inclusive, and any regulations adopted thereunder, he may, after due
notice and hearing, if he finds that the cemetery authority has violated
those requirements or regulations, revoke or refuse to renew the permit
of that cemetery authority and refer the violation to the Attorney
General to determine if further action should be taken under subsection 1.
4. The provisions of NRS 679B.230 to 679B.300 , inclusive, apply to any examination
conducted under this section. Unless the context requires that a
provision apply only to insurers, any reference in those sections to
“insurer” must be replaced by a reference to “cemetery authority” or the
person being examined.
[14:138:1953; A 1955, 290]—(NRS A 1961, 117; 1967, 583; 1971, 2074;
1987, 1270)
Any member of a board of trustees or any officer or
director of a corporation or association violating any of the provisions
of NRS 452.160 shall be personally
liable therefor, and shall upon conviction thereof be guilty of a
misdemeanor.
[2:40:1931;1931 NCL § 981.01]—(NRS A 1967, 583; 1971, 2075)
Mausoleums, Vaults and Crypts
1. A person shall not build, construct or erect any mausoleum,
vault, crypt or structure intended to hold or contain dead human bodies,
which shall be wholly or partially above the surface of the ground,
except in compliance with the regulations of the State Board of Health
governing their location, materials and construction. The State Board of
Health may adopt and, except as provided in subsection 2, the Health
Division shall enforce such regulations.
2. An incorporated city or a county which:
(a) Has a building or public works department; and
(b) Has adopted a nationally recognized building code, entirely or
with variations,
Ê shall enforce within its respective city limits or unincorporated areas
any regulations pertaining to the construction of mausoleums, vaults,
crypts or other similar structures, as adopted by the State Board of
Health under subsection 1, and shall exercise such enforcement, including
supervisory control, instead of the Health Division and any district
board of health.
3. Before commencing the building, construction or erection of a
mausoleum, vault, crypt or other similar structure, full detailed plans
and specifications of the structure shall be presented to the Health
Division for its examination and approval. The approval of the plans and
specifications of the structure shall be evidenced by a certificate in
writing signed by the State Health Officer.
[1:21:1931; 1931 NCL § 4085]—(NRS A 1963, 964; 1971, 2075; 1977,
167)
All crypts or catacombs placed in a mausoleum, vault or other burial
structure, as described in NRS 452.210 ,
shall be so constructed that all parts thereof may be readily examined by
the Health Division, or any other health officer, and such crypts or
catacombs, when used for the permanent interment of a deceased body or
bodies, shall be so hermetically sealed that no offensive odor or
effluvia may escape therefrom.
[2:21:1931; 1931 NCL § 4085.01]—(NRS A 1963, 964)
1. Except as provided in subsection 2 of NRS 452.210 , the Health Division shall have supervisory
control over the construction of any mausoleum, vault or crypt, and shall:
(a) See that the approved plans and specifications are in all
respects complied with.
(b) Appoint an inspector under whose supervision the mausoleum,
vault or crypt shall be erected.
(c) Determine the amount of compensation of the inspector. The
compensation shall be paid by the person erecting such mausoleum, vault
or crypt.
2. No departure or deviation from the original plans and
specifications is permitted except upon approval of the Health Division,
evidenced in the same manner as the approval of the original plans and
specifications.
3. A mausoleum, vault, crypt or structure shall not be used to
hold any dead body until a final certificate is obtained indicating
compliance with the plans and specifications as filed. The certificate
must be signed either by the State Health Officer for the Health Division
or by the head of the local building or public works department,
depending upon which division or department supervised the construction
under NRS 452.210 .
[3:21:1931; A 1933, 26; 1931 NCL § 4085.02]—(NRS A 1963, 964; 1971,
2076; 1977, 168)
A
cemetery authority shall not use any crypt or niche for the entombment or
inurnment of human remains unless a certificate of occupancy has been
issued by the State Board of Health or the local building or public works
department, depending upon which authority supervised the construction
under NRS 452.210 , for the occupancy of
any such crypt or niche.
(Added to NRS by 1971, 2072; A 1993, 2607)
1. Whenever any mausoleum, vault, crypt or structure heretofore
erected, and containing one or more deceased human bodies, shall, in the
opinion of the Health Division, become a menace to public health, any
court of competent jurisdiction may order the person, firm or corporation
owning the structure to remove the deceased body or bodies for interment
in some suitable cemetery at the expense of the person, firm or
corporation owning such mausoleum, vault or crypt.
2. If no such person, firm or corporation can be found in the
county where such mausoleum, vault or crypt may be located, then such
removal and interment shall be at the expense of the cemetery or cemetery
association, county, city or town where such mausoleum, vault or crypt
may be situated.
[4:21:1931; 1931 NCL § 4085.03]—(NRS A 1963, 965)
120 . There shall be deposited with the board of
trustees or board of directors of any cemetery corporation or association
where the mausoleum, vault or crypt is to be erected the amount provided
for in NRS 452.120 .
[5:21:1931; A 1933, 26; 1951, 357]—(NRS A 1961, 117; 1971, 2076)
Any person, any member of a firm, or any
officer or director of a corporation failing to comply with each and
every provision of NRS 452.210 to
452.250 , inclusive, shall be personally
liable therefor, and is guilty of a misdemeanor.
[6:21:1931; 1931 NCL § 4085.05]—(NRS A 1967, 584; 1971, 2077)
Miscellaneous Provisions
1. Whenever the cemetery lands and property of any nonprofit
corporation governed by the provisions of chapter 82 of NRS formed for the purpose of procuring and
holding lands to be used exclusively for a cemetery or place of burial of
the dead are laid off into lots or plats, and the lots or plats, or any
of them, are transferred to individual holders, and after there has been
an interment in a lot or plat so transferred, the lot or plat, from the
time of the interment, is forever thereafter inalienable, and, upon the
death of the holder or proprietor thereof, descends to the heirs at law
of the holder or proprietor, and to their heirs at law forever. Any one
or more of the heirs at law may release to any other of the heirs at law
his or their interest in the lot or plat, on such conditions as are
agreed on and specified in the release, which must be recorded with the
county recorder of the county within which the cemetery is situated.
2. The body of any deceased person must not be interred in such a
lot or plat, unless it is the body of a person having, at the time of his
decease, an interest in the lot or plat, or the relative of some person
having such an interest, or the wife of such a person, or her relative,
except by the consent of all persons having an interest in the lot or
plat.
(Added to NRS by 1991, 1316)—(Substituted in revision for NRS
452.185)
1. Every person who makes or opens any road, or constructs any
railway, turnpike, canal or other public easement over, through, in or
upon such part of any cemetery without authority of law or the consent of
the cemetery authority or owner thereof is guilty of a category E felony
and shall be punished as provided in NRS 193.130 .
2. Every person who deposits any material in or upon any cemetery
without written consent from the owner of the cemetery or the cemetery
authority or without a court order is guilty of a category E felony and
shall be punished as provided in NRS 193.130 .
[1911 C&P § 212; RL § 6477; NCL § 10160]—(NRS A 2005, 500 )
1. A person who:
(a) Willfully destroys, mutilates, defaces or injures any tomb,
monument, gravestone, building or other structure placed in any cemetery;
(b) Willfully destroys, mutilates, defaces or injures any fence,
railing or other work for the protection or ornament of any cemetery or
any tomb, monument, gravestone, or any structure, plat or lot within the
cemetery;
(c) Willfully destroys, cuts, breaks or injures any tree, shrub or
plant within the limits of any cemetery; or
(d) Willfully disturbs the contents of any grave, tomb or crypt in
a cemetery,
Ê is guilty of a category E felony and shall be punished as provided in
NRS 193.130 . In addition to any other
penalty, the court shall order the person to pay restitution to the owner
of the cemetery, cemetery authority or board of county commissioners of
the county in which the cemetery is located, as appropriate, including
payment of any costs to reinter or redeposit the contents of any grave,
tomb or crypt that were removed or disturbed by the person.
2. Any money paid for restitution pursuant to subsection 1 must be
applied by the trustees, owner of the cemetery, cemetery authority or
board of county commissioners of the county in which the cemetery is
located, as appropriate, to repair or restore the property which was
destroyed or injured and to conduct any reinterment or redeposit for
which costs were ordered pursuant to subsection 1.
3. This section does not relieve any person from civil liability
for engaging in an unlawful act pursuant to this section.
(Added to NRS by 1991, 1316; A 2005, 500 )
1. It is unlawful for a person to:
(a) Remove willfully any tomb, monument, gravestone, fencing,
building or other structure placed in a cemetery, or any portion of the
tomb, monument, gravestone, fencing, building or structure, without
written authorization from a member of the immediate family or a lineal
descendent of the deceased, the owner of the cemetery or cemetery
authority, the board of county commissioners of the county where the
cemetery is located or a court order;
(b) Possess any tomb, monument, gravestone, fencing, building or
other structure removed from a cemetery, or any portion of the tomb,
monument, gravestone, fencing, building or structure, if the person knows
it has been unlawfully removed from a cemetery; or
(c) Sell, offer or attempt to sell or otherwise transfer or dispose
of any tomb, monument, gravestone, fencing, building or other structure
placed in a cemetery, or any portion of the tomb, monument, gravestone,
fencing, building or structure, if the person knows it has been
unlawfully removed from a cemetery.
2. A person who violates any provision of subsection 1 is guilty
of a category E felony and shall be punished as provided in NRS 193.130
. In addition to any other penalty, the
court shall order the person to pay restitution to the owner of the
cemetery, the cemetery authority or the board of county commissioners of
the county in which the cemetery is located, as appropriate.
3. A person who is paid money for restitution pursuant to
subsection 2 shall use the money to repair or restore the property that
was removed from the cemetery.
4. This section does not relieve any person from civil liability
for engaging in an unlawful act pursuant to this section.
5. The provisions of this section do not apply to a person acting
in the course of a medical or archeological study or criminal
investigation or in carrying out the professional mortuary duties of the
person.
(Added to NRS by 2005, 499 )
Operation of Business
1. No person may engage in the business of operating a cemetery in
this state without first obtaining a certificate of authority from the
Board.
2. Applications for a certificate of authority to operate a
cemetery must be filed with the Board. Each application must be
accompanied by:
(a) A filing fee of $1,000 and any other fees related to the
application. No part of the fees is refundable.
(b) A copy, certified by the proper officials, of the:
(1) Articles of incorporation, if any.
(2) Bylaws of the corporation, if any.
(3) Application to the city or county planning commission
for a use permit or the rezoning for the proposed cemetery.
(4) Land use or zoning permit.
(5) Declaration of dedication of land to cemetery purposes.
(6) Deed, contract of purchase or other document which
provides the applicant with merchantable title to the land dedicated.
(7) Endowment care trust fund agreement executed by the
proper officers of the cemetery authority.
(c) A statement, executed by the proper officers of the applicant,
setting forth:
(1) If the applicant is a corporation, the names and
addresses of the board of directors and officers.
(2) If the applicant is not a corporation, the names and
addresses of the natural persons in charge.
(3) The names and addresses of the trustees of the endowment
care fund.
(4) The name and address of the person in charge of sales.
Ê The statement must contain a description of the general character,
experience and fitness to engage in the cemetery business for each person
named.
(d) A complete, detailed and audited financial statement showing
assets, liabilities and reserve.
(e) An itemized statement of all estimated receipts and
expenditures for the succeeding 2-year period or such other period as may
be required by the Board.
(f) A map of the proposed cemetery in such detail and size as may
be required by the Board.
(g) A statement of the proposed plan of operation in such detail as
may be required by the Board.
(h) A statement of the amount deposited in the endowment care fund
and the type of investment made of such amount.
(i) A statement from the depository showing the deposit in the
endowment care fund of the amount required by NRS 452.120 and 452.130 .
(j) Such other information as may be required by written notice
from the Board.
3. Upon request, the Board shall provide to the Administrator a
copy of the following information contained in an application for a
certificate of authority filed with the Board pursuant to this section:
(a) The endowment care trust fund agreement;
(b) The names and addresses of the trustees of the endowment care
fund; and
(c) The statements described in paragraphs (h) and (i) of
subsection 2.
(Added to NRS by 1971, 2063; A 1993, 2607; 2003, 1280 )
1. If the applicant is a new corporation, the financial statement
required by NRS 452.310 shall designate
the amount of stock subscribed, the consideration paid for all stock
issued and the amount of promotional stock involved.
2. If the applicant has had prior experience in the cemetery
business, the financial statement required by NRS 452.310 shall include complete profit and loss
statements for the preceding 3 years or, if the applicant has been in
such business for less than 3 years, then for such period.
(Added to NRS by 1971, 2064)
1. If the Board finds that the proposed cemetery authority has in
good faith complied with all lawful requirements, it shall within 30 days
issue a certificate of authority for the operation of a cemetery.
2. The certificate of authority is valid for 6 months from the
date of issuance, and if the cemetery authority has not begun operations
within that time the certificate expires unless the Board has, for good
cause, extended the period. No such extension may be given for more than
6 months from the date of extension.
(Added to NRS by 1971, 2064; A 1993, 2608)
A cemetery
authority may:
1. Adopt, amend and enforce rules and regulations for the use,
care, control, management, restriction and protection of its property;
2. Restrict and limit the use of all property within its cemetery;
3. Regulate the uniformity of erections within its cemetery;
4. Regulate, prohibit or remove monuments, effigies and structures
within any portion of its cemetery;
5. Prohibit the introduction of plants and shrubs within its
cemetery;
6. Regulate or prohibit, for good cause, the use of any portion of
its cemetery for interment, entombment or inurnment; and
7. Regulate the conduct of persons and prevent improper
assemblages within its cemetery.
(Added to NRS by 1971, 2065)
1. A cemetery authority, when additional property is required for
interment, entombment or inurnment purposes, shall make maps showing:
(a) If land, the location of graves, monuments, markers, memorials,
vaults, crypts, thoroughfares and plots, with descriptive names where
applicable.
(b) If a mausoleum, crematory or columbarium, the location of
halls, rooms, corridors, elevations and other divisions, with descriptive
names where applicable.
2. The maps required by subsection 1 shall:
(a) Be kept on cemetery land in an office of the cemetery authority.
(b) Open to inspection by authorized and interested persons.
(c) Show and facilitate the location of all bodies or human remains
interred, entombed or inurned in the cemetery.
(d) Show the name of the owner of each lot, vault, crypt, niche or
other repository in the cemetery, mausoleum or columbarium.
(Added to NRS by 1971, 2065)
1. Except as may otherwise be specifically authorized in writing
by the Administrator, after the Health Division’s written approval of
plans and specifications for the construction of a mausoleum or
columbarium, no cemetery authority or person on behalf of such cemetery
authority shall sell, offer for sale, contract to sell or negotiate the
sale of a crypt or niche in any such advertised or projected structure
before receiving a certificate of occupancy, unless the cemetery
authority:
(a) Provides a bond, if deemed necessary by the Administrator, in
favor of the State of Nevada in an amount which is sufficient to cover
the amount of sales commission that has been received from the buyer
until the structure is completed and complies with paragraphs (c) and (d)
of this subsection; or
(b) Is able to provide a certificate of ownership for existing
crypts or niches of comparable value to the one sold and includes a
provision in each contract of sale that the purchaser has the right of
exchange for an existing crypt or niche of comparable value; and
(c) Deposits the net proceeds, remaining after payment of the sales
commission, collected on the sale of such crypts or niches, into a trust
for the purpose of the construction of the projected or advertised
mausoleum or columbarium; and
(d) Has provisions for satisfactory temporary entombment or
interment, acceptable to the contract purchaser or the representative of
the deceased contract beneficiary, pending completion of construction and
delivery of the approved crypt or niche, when sold by reference to
construction plans and specifications, in accordance with the terms of
the sales contract.
2. Each contract for the sale of a mausoleum crypt or niche before
a certificate of occupancy is obtained shall contain a provision
substantially stating: “If the seller at any time finds himself unable to
fulfill this agreement owing to an act of God, strike, riot, order of
civil or military authority or to any other unforeseen contingency, he
shall return to the purchaser all moneys that may have been paid
hereunder, and this agreement thereupon shall be void.”
(Added to NRS by 1971, 2065)
1. A person who proposes to purchase or acquire control of an
existing cemetery authority, either by purchase of the outstanding
capital stock of a cemetery authority or the interest of the owner or
owners, and thereby to change the control of the cemetery authority,
shall first make application to the Board for a certificate of approval
of the proposed change of control in the cemetery authority.
2. The application must contain the name and address of the
proposed new owners, and the Board may only issue a certificate of
approval after it is reasonably satisfied that the proposed new owners
are qualified by character, experience and business and financial
reputability and responsibility to control and operate the cemetery in a
suitable and proper manner, and that the interest of the public generally
will not be jeopardized by the proposed change in ownership and
management. The Board shall not issue a certificate of approval without
the approval of the Administrator.
3. The application must be accompanied by a filing and
investigation fee of $250 and any other fees related to the application.
No part of the fees is refundable.
(Added to NRS by 1971, 2071; A 1993, 2609; 2003, 1281 )
Violations
In addition to any other penalty provided
for in NRS 452.001 to 452.610 , inclusive, any person who violates any
provision of NRS 452.001 to 452.610
, inclusive, or any regulation adopted
or administrative order entered pursuant to those sections, for which a
greater penalty is not otherwise provided by law, is guilty of a
misdemeanor.
(Added to NRS by 1971, 2072; A 1993, 2754; 2003, 1282 )
CEMETERIES FOR PETS
As used in NRS 452.640 to 452.740 ,
inclusive, unless the context otherwise requires:
1. “Administrator” means the Commissioner of Insurance.
2. “Cemetery authority” means a person who owns or controls any
real property dedicated for use as a cemetery for pets pursuant to NRS
452.655 , and who operates a cemetery
for pets on that property.
(Added to NRS by 1993, 2749)
The provisions of:
1. NRS 452.650 to 452.700 , inclusive, do not apply to cemeteries
containing human remains only.
2. NRS 452.655 to 452.700 , inclusive, do not apply to the operation of a
cemetery for pets existing on October 1, 1993, unless the property on
which the cemetery is located is dedicated for use as a cemetery for pets
pursuant to NRS 452.655 .
(Added to NRS by 1993, 2749)
The governing body of a
county, city or town may adopt such ordinances for the maintenance and
operation of cemeteries for pets, and for the interment, inurnment and
entombment of pets, as it deems appropriate for the public health, safety
or welfare. Such an ordinance must not conflict with the provisions of
NRS 452.655 to 452.700 , inclusive.
(Added to NRS by 1993, 2752)
1. The owner of real property may dedicate any portion of the
property for use as a cemetery for pets by recording an acknowledged
declaration of that dedication, which must specify the period for which
the dedication is made, with the county recorder of the county in which
the property is located.
2. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3, property
dedicated for use as a cemetery for pets must be used exclusively for
that purpose until the dedication is removed by court order.
3. Nothing in this section prohibits the interment, in property
dedicated for use as a cemetery for pets, of the cremated remains of a
person with the remains of his predeceased pet.
(Added to NRS by 1993, 2750)
The owner of property dedicated for use as a cemetery for
pets may petition the district court of the judicial district where the
property is located for the removal of that dedication. The district
court shall remove the dedication if it determines, after notice and
hearing, that:
1. No interments of pets were made in, or all interments of pets
have been removed from, the dedicated property; and
2. The owner of the property has received written authorization
from the persons whose pets have been interred in the cemetery, or their
successors, to remove the dedication from their respective plots or to
disinter their respective pets for removal to another location.
(Added to NRS by 1993, 2750)
The dedication of property for use as a cemetery for
pets pursuant to NRS 452.655 is not
defeated or otherwise affected by, and has priority over:
1. Any lien, mortgage or other encumbrance which attaches to the
property:
(a) After the dedication; or
(b) Before the dedication, if the holder of the lien, mortgage or
other encumbrance consents in writing to the subordination of his
interest in the property; and
2. Any sale of the property to enforce such a lien, mortgage or
other encumbrance.
(Added to NRS by 1993, 2750)
A person
shall not operate a cemetery for pets unless:
1. The trust fund for the endowment care of the cemetery contains
a principal sum of not less than that amount required pursuant to NRS
452.705 .
2. The cemetery is located on not less than 5 acres of real
property which:
(a) Is dedicated for use as a cemetery for pets pursuant to NRS
452.655 ; and
(b) Is not subject to any liens, mortgages or other encumbrances,
except those which are subordinate to the dedication of the property for
use as a cemetery for pets.
(Added to NRS by 1993, 2751)
1. A person shall not operate a crematory for pets unless he is a
cemetery authority who:
(a) Also holds a certificate of authority issued pursuant to NRS
452.340 ; and
(b) Operates the crematory on the property to which that
certificate of authority relates.
2. The provisions of this section do not apply to a society:
(a) Formed for the purpose of preventing cruelty to animals as
described in NRS 574.010 ; and
(b) Which operates a shelter for animals.
(Added to NRS by 1993, 2751)
A
cemetery authority:
1. May dispose of the remains of any pet which has been left for
more than 7 days at the cemetery, if arrangements have not been made with
the cemetery authority for the disposition of the pet.
2. Shall post a notice, in a conspicuous place on the grounds of
the cemetery, apprising the public of the provisions of subsection 1.
(Added to NRS by 1993, 2751)
1. A cemetery authority shall, before the interment, inurnment or
entombment of a pet, require a deposit for the trust fund for the
endowment care of the cemetery, in addition to any fee charged for the
interment, inurnment or entombment.
2. The deposit for the trust fund for the endowment care of the
cemetery must be set by the cemetery authority in an amount which is not
less than:
(a) For each grave, $5 per square foot.
(b) For the first entombment in a single, companion or communal
crypt, $35, and for each additional entombment in the same crypt, $20.
(c) For the first inurnment in a single, companion or communal
niche, $15, and for each additional inurnment in the same niche, $10.
(Added to NRS by 1993, 2750)
Any money received by or
on behalf of a cemetery authority relating to the interment, inurnment or
entombment of a pet must be applied to pay the deposit required by NRS
452.685 before the remainder may be
used for any other purpose. The cemetery authority shall place the
deposit into a trust fund for the endowment care of the cemetery.
(Added to NRS by 1993, 2750)
1. A cemetery authority may receive and hold as a part of or
incident to its trust fund for the endowment care of the cemetery any
real or personal property bequeathed, devised, granted, given or
otherwise contributed to it for the trust fund.
2. The trust fund and all payments or contributions to it shall be
deemed to be for charitable and eleemosynary purposes, and the endowment
care of the cemetery for pets shall be deemed to be in discharge of a
duty due from the persons contributing to the trust fund, and for the
benefit and protection of the public health and welfare by preserving and
keeping cemeteries for pets from becoming unkempt and places of reproach
and desolation in the communities in which they are situated.
3. No payment, gift, grant, bequest or other contribution for the
endowment care of a cemetery for pets is invalid by reason of any
indefiniteness or uncertainty in the designation of the beneficiaries,
nor is the fund or any contribution to it invalid as violating any law
against perpetuities or the suspension of the power of alienation of
title to property.
(Added to NRS by 1993, 2751)
In the absence of fraud, any money in a trust fund for the
endowment care of a cemetery for pets held pursuant to NRS 452.690 is exempt from attachment, garnishment or
other process of law for the payment of any debt or liability of a
cemetery authority, the person depositing the money or the successor of
such a person.
(Added to NRS by 1993, 2751)
1. Each trust fund for the endowment care of a cemetery for pets
must contain a principal sum of not less than $25,000.
2. When the trust fund has not less than $75,000 on deposit, the
initial $25,000 may be withdrawn.
3. The trust fund once having reached $50,000 may not be decreased
below that amount.
(Added to NRS by 1993, 2754)
1. A cemetery authority may appoint a board of trustees of not
less than three in number as trustees of its trust fund for the endowment
care of the cemetery. The members of the board of trustees hold office
subject to the direction of the cemetery authority.
2. The directors of a cemetery authority, if any, may be the
trustees of its trust fund. When the fund is in the care of the directors
as a board of trustees, the secretary of the cemetery authority shall act
as its secretary and keep a true record of all of its proceedings.
3. No sum in excess of 5 percent of the income derived from the
fund in any year may be paid as compensation to the board of trustees for
its services.
4. In lieu of the appointment of a board of trustees of its trust
fund for the endowment care of the cemetery, a cemetery authority may
appoint as sole trustee of the fund any bank or trust company qualified
pursuant to the laws of this state to engage in the trust business.
(Added to NRS by 1993, 2752)
1. The principal of all trust funds for the endowment care of a
cemetery must be invested and the income only used for the care,
maintenance and embellishment of the cemetery, in accordance with the
provisions of law and the resolutions, bylaws, rules and regulations or
other actions or instruments of the cemetery authority, and for no other
purpose. The trust funds must be maintained separate and distinct from
all other funds and the trustees shall keep separate records thereof.
2. The trustee of the trust fund shall create a reserve from which
principal losses may be replaced by setting aside a reasonable percentage
of the income from the fund.
(Added to NRS by 1993, 2752)
1. Money held in trust for the endowment care of a cemetery for
pets must not be used for any purpose other than to provide, through
income only, for the reserves authorized by law and for the endowment
care of the cemetery in accordance with the resolutions, bylaws, rules
and regulations or other actions or instruments of the cemetery authority.
2. The money must be invested and reinvested in:
(a) Bonds of the United States;
(b) Bonds of this state or the bonds of other states;
(c) Bonds of counties or municipalities of any state;
(d) With the approval of the Administrator, first mortgages or
first trust deeds on improved real estate;
(e) Deposits in any bank, credit union or savings and loan
association that is federally insured or insured by a private insurer
approved pursuant to NRS 678.755 ; or
(f) With the written approval of the Administrator, any investment
which would be proper under the provisions of NRS 164.700 to 164.775 ,
inclusive.
Ê Pending investment as provided in this subsection, such money may be
deposited in an account in any savings bank, credit union or savings and
loan association which is qualified to do business in this state and
which is federally insured or insured by a private insurer approved
pursuant to NRS 678.755 .
3. Each cemetery authority shall annually submit to the
Administrator, on a form prescribed and adopted by the Administrator, a
financial statement of the condition of its trust fund for the endowment
care of the cemetery. The statement must be accompanied by a fee of $10.
If the statement is not received by the Administrator, he may, after
giving 10 days’ notice, revoke the cemetery authority’s certificate of
authority.
(Added to NRS by 1993, 2753; A 1999, 1499 ; 2003, 1983 )
1. A cemetery authority may also take and hold any property
bequeathed, granted, or given to it in trust and apply the principal, or
proceeds, or income from the trust to either or all of the following
purposes:
(a) Improvement or embellishment of all or any part of the cemetery
or any lot in it.
(b) Erection, renewal, repair or preservation of any monument,
fence, building or other structure in the cemetery.
(c) Planting or cultivation of trees, shrubs or plants in or around
any part of the cemetery.
(d) Special care or ornamenting of any part of any plot, section or
building in the cemetery.
(e) Any purpose or use not inconsistent with the purpose for which
the cemetery was established or is maintained.
2. The sums paid in or contributed to the fund authorized by this
section are hereby expressly permitted as and for a charitable and
eleemosynary purpose. Such contributions are a provision for the
discharge of a duty due from the persons contributing to the person or
persons interred or to be interred in the cemetery, and likewise a
provision for the benefit and protection of the public by preserving,
beautifying and keeping cemeteries from becoming unkept and places of
reproach and desolation in the communities in which they are situated.
3. No payment, gift, grant, bequest or other contribution for such
a purpose is invalid by reason of any indefiniteness or uncertainty of
the persons designated as beneficiaries in the instruments creating the
fund, nor is the fund or any contribution to it invalid as violating any
law against perpetuities or the suspension of the power of alienation of
title to property.
(Added to NRS by 1993, 2752)
1. Each cemetery for pets shall post in a conspicuous place in
each office where sales are conducted and at or near the entrance of the
cemetery or its administration building if readily accessible to the
public, a legible sign containing the following information in the order
and manner set forth below:
(a) A heading with the words “Endowment care” appearing in a
minimum of 48-point black type.
(b) A statement that the cemetery is endowment care interment
property.
2. The president and secretary of the cemetery or two officers
authorized by the cemetery authority shall annually inspect each sign to
ensure compliance with this section.
(Added to NRS by 1993, 2754)
1. It is unlawful for a cemetery authority, its officers,
employees or agents, or a seller or agent certified or licensed pursuant
to NRS 689.450 to 689.595 , inclusive, to:
(a) Represent that a trust fund for the endowment care of the
cemetery is perpetual or permanent; or
(b) Sell, offer for sale or advertise any plot under representation
that the plot is under endowment care,
Ê before a trust fund for the endowment care of the cemetery has been
established for the cemetery in which the plot is situated.
2. The Administrator, for the purpose of ascertaining the assets,
conditions and affairs of a cemetery for pets, may examine the books,
records, documents and assets of a cemetery for pets operating, or being
organized to operate as such a cemetery, in this state and may make any
other investigations as may be necessary to determine that the cemetery
is complying fully with the provisions of NRS 452.705 to 452.740 ,
inclusive.
3. The provisions of NRS 679B.230 to 679B.300 , inclusive, apply to any examination
conducted under this section. Unless the context requires that a
provision apply only to insurers, any reference in those sections to
“insurer” must be replaced by a reference to “cemetery authority” or the
person being examined.
(Added to NRS by 1993, 2753)
Any person violating
any of the provisions of NRS 452.710 to
452.725 , inclusive, or 452.735 is personally liable for the violation and is
guilty of a misdemeanor.
(Added to NRS by 1993, 2754)
