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How to Title a Burial Plot

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You stopped procrastinating on your estate planning and you created a Revocable Living Trust.  The first step has been completed.  Now, come the next step.  It is important to properly title you assets in the name of your revocable living trust.  This is called funding your trust.  If an asset is held in your name alone at your death, then it will need to go through the probate process.  You need to change the title of your assets to the name of the revocable living trust to avoid probate.  Your first question is “How do you retitle a burial plot?”

So how do you retitle a burial plot?  This question is one we hear frequently at Sinclair Prosser Gasior.  In order to answer the question, we need to review Maryland law.  There are statutes and regulations that govern cemetery ownership.  Maryland law states that the interest of an owner of a burial plot or crypt may be disposed of during the lifetime of the owner of the burial plot or crypt with the consent of the cemetery owner, may be disposed of by specific reference in the will of the owner, or may pass to the heirs of the owner as described in the intestacy provisions of the Estates and Trusts Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland.

Additionally, the interest of an owner of a burial plot or crypt that is held for the burial of the owner or others and not held as an investment is not considered property, not subject to attachment or execution for debt, not subject to the insolvency laws of the State, not to be inventoried in the estate of the owner, and not subject to the inheritance taxes.

With that being said, we usually recommend that our clients keep the name of the burial plots in their own names if they intend to be buried in the plot at the cemetery or the crypt.  If they are not planning on using the plot, then we suggest they ask a family member if they would like to have the burial plot.  You can specifically designate who should receive the plot.  The burial plot or crypt is usually not part of the probate process.

 

Jon J. Gasior, Estate Planning Attorney
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About Jon J. Gasior, Estate Planning Attorney

His personal experience with family and the problems that resulted from their failure to create an estate plan resulted in his desire to learn more about this area of the law. From his work in the Elder Law Clinic, he further realized the need to plan not only for death, but also for incapacity during their lifetime. About the Author !