§ 1513-a. Reacquisition of a lot, plot or part thereof by a cemetery\n corporation.\n A cemetery corporation may, upon application and approval by the\ncemetery board, reacquire, resubdivide, and resell a lot, plot or part\nthereof under the following circumstances:\n (a)(i) If the records of the corporation demonstrate that the lot,\nplot or part thereof was purchased more than seventy-five years prior to\nthe application of the corporation; and (ii) if no burials have been\nmade in the lot, plot or part thereof or all the bodies therein have\nbeen lawfully removed; and (iii) if neither the owner or owners of the\nlot, plot or part thereof nor any person having a credible claim to\nownership who has visited, made payments in respect of or engaged in any\nother proprietary activities with respect to the lot, plot or part\nthereof can be identified after a reasonable search conducted by the\ncemetery corporation, it shall be conclusively presumed that the owner\nor owners of the lot, plot or part thereof have abandoned their burial\nrights. A reasonable search consists of a search of: (1) all cemetery\nrecords to determine the name of the owner or owners of the lot, plot or\npart thereof, their last known addresses and all information available\nto the cemetery relating to any person buried in the lot, plot or part\nthereof and the names and last known addresses of any persons making\ninquiry about or visiting the lot, plot or part thereof; (2) a search\nfor the death certificates and the probated wills of the owner or owners\nof the lot, plot or part thereof; (3) the posting of notice by the\ncemetery at the entrance to the cemetery and in the cemetery office, if\nany, of its intention to declare the lot, plot or part thereof\nabandoned; (4) the mailing of such notice certified mail with return\nreceipt requested to the owner or owners of the lot, plot or part\nthereof and each person identified during the reasonable search at their\nlast known addresses; (5) publication of such notice once in each week\nfor three successive weeks, in two newspapers of regular commercial\ncirculation by subscription and/or newsstand sale, to be designated by\nthe county clerk of the county where the cemetery is located which in\nhis or her judgement, given the ethnic, religious, geographic or other\nrelated demographic characteristics of the owner or owners of the lot,\nplot or part thereof and each person identified through the reasonable\nsearch and the predominant readership of such newspapers are best\ncalculated to inform the owner or owners of the lot, plot or part\nthereof and each person identified through the reasonable search of any\napplication pursuant to the provisions of this section; and (6) the\npreparation of an affidavit describing the steps taken by the cemetery\ncorporation to ascertain the identity of and to contact the current\nowner or owners of the lot, plot or part thereof or next-of-kin thereof\nor any other persons identified in the course of the reasonable search\nwho might have relevant information and the results of such steps. After\nthe filing with the cemetery board of proof of compliance with the above\nrequirements in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to such board\nand upon approval by the cemetery board, the lot, plot or part thereof\nmay be resold by the cemetery to any party in compliance with the\ncemetery rules and regulations provided, however, that any monument\nsubsequently placed on such lot, plot or part thereof shall conform to\nthe general appearance of any existing monuments in said section of\nlots, plots or parts thereof, if any.\n (b) If (i) the circumstances described in paragraph (a) of this\nsection exist except that one or more burials have been made in a lot,\nand the last burial was made more than seventy-five years prior to the\napplication, (ii) the lot, plot or part thereof can be subdivided to\ncreate new graves, (iii) the bodies have not been lawfully remove
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