(1) If there is a burial space in a cemetery in which no remains have been interred, no burial memorial has been placed, and no other improvement has been made for a continuous period of no less than seventy-five years, the governing body of the municipality may initiate the process of reclaiming title to the burial space in accordance with this section. (2) The governing body of a municipality seeking to reclaim a burial space shall: (a) Send written notice of the municipality's intent to reclaim title to the burial space to the owner's last-known address by first-class mail; and (b) Publish a notice of the municipality's intent to reclaim title to the burial space in a newspaper of general circulation in the area in which the cemetery is located once per week for four weeks. (3) The notice required by subsection (2) of this section shall clearly indicate that the municipality intends to terminate the owner's rights and title to the burial space and include a recitation of the owner's right to notify the municipality of the owner's intent to retain ownership of the burial space. (4) If the governing body of the municipality does not receive from the owner of the burial space a letter of intent to retain ownership of the burial space within sixty days after the last publication of the notice required by paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of this section, all rights and title to the burial space shall transfer to the municipality. The municipality may then sell, transfer, or otherwise dispose of the burial space without risk of liability to the prior owner of the burial space. (5) A municipality that reclaims title to a burial space in accordance with this section shall retain in its records for no less than one year a copy of the notice sent pursuant to paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of this section and a copy of the notice published pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of this section. (6) If a person submits to the governing body of a municipality a legitimate claim to a burial space that the governing body has reclaimed pursuant to this section, the governing body shall transfer to the person at no charge a burial space that, to the extent possible, is equivalent to the reclaimed burial space. (7) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, on and after August 7, 2006, the governing body of a municipality shall not convey title to the real property surveyed as a lot in a cemetery for use as a burial space. The governing body of a municipality may grant interment rights to a burial space in a cemetery.
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