TITLE XIII.

CEMETERY CORPORATIONS.

§ 608. How much land may be held, and how disposed of. § 609. Who are members eligible to vote and hold office.

§ 610. May hold personal property, to what amount-How disposed of.

§ 611. May issue bonds to pay for grounds-Proceeds of sales, how disposed of.

§ 612. May take and hold property or use income thereof, how.

§ 613. When burial lot inalienable-Who may not be buried in lot. $ 614. Lot owners previous to purchase to be members of the corporation.

615. May sell lands, how.

$ 616. May hold property-Income, how applied.

HOW MUCH LAND MAY BE HELD, AND HOW DISPOSED OF. Sec. 608, C. C. Corporations organized to establish and maintain cemeteries may take, by purchase, donation, or devise, land, not exceeding three hundred and twenty acres in extent, in the county wherein their articles of incorporation are filed, or in an adjoining county, and may employ any surplus moneys in the treasury thereof for such purpose; such lands to be held and occupied exclusively as a cemetery for the burial of the dead. The lands must be surveyed and subdivided into lots or plats, avenues, and walks, under order of the directors, and a map thereof filed in the office of the recorder of the county wherein the lands are situated. Thereafter, upon such terms and subject to such conditions and restrictions, to be inserted in the conveyances, as the by-laws or directors may prescribe, the directors may sell and convey the lots or plats to purchasers. En. March 21, 1872. Amd. 1891, 179.

Manner of execution of deeds by: See post, Statutes at Large, title "Corporations."

Legislative History.

The basis of the title is the rural cemetery act of 1859, page 281. The original section does not contain these words: "or in an adjoining county, and may employ any surplus money in the treasury thereof, for such purpose; such lands."'

WHO ARE MEMBERS ELIGIBLE TO VOTE AND HOLD OFFICE.

Sec. 609, C. C. Every person of full age who is proprietor of a lot or plat in the cemetery of the corporation, containing not less than two hundred square feet of land, or, if there be more than one proprietor of any such lot, then such of the proprietors as the majority of joint proprietors designate, may, in person or by proxy, cast one vote at all elections had by the corporation for directors or any other purpose, and is eligible to any office of the corporation. At each annual meeting or election, the directors must make a report to the proprietors of all their doings, and of the management and condition of the property and concerns of the corporation. En. March 21, 1872.

Legislative History.

See sec. 608, C. C., ante.

Section Cited.

Odd Fellows' Cemetery Assn. v. San Francisco (decided Sept. 16, 1903).

Annotation.

Construction of Section-Police Powers.-This section contains a grant of power to such corporations to own property, limits the amount that may be acquired, and the uses to which such property may be devoted. There is nothing in the section intended to operate upon or restrict the exercise of the police power to regulate and control the location and maintenance of cemeteries. (Odd Fellows' Cemetery Assn. v. San Francisco (decided Sept. 16, 1903).

MAY HOLD PERSONAL PROPERTY, TO WHAT AMOUNT_HOW DISPOSED OF.

Sec. 610, C. C. Such corporations may hold personal property to an amount not exceeding five thousand dollars, in addition to the surplus remaining from the sales of lots or plats

after the payments required in the succeeding section. Such surplus must be disposed of in the improvement, embellishment, and preservation of the cemetery, and paying incidental expenses of the corporation and in no other manner. En. March 21, 1872.

Legislative History.

See sec. 608, C. C., ante.

MAY ISSUE BONDS TO PAY FOR GROUNDS-PROCEEDS OF SALES, HOW DISPOSED OF.

Sec. 611, C. C. Such corporations may issue their bonds, bearing interest not exceeding twelve per cent per annum, for the purchase of lands for their cemeteries, payable out of the proceeds of the cemetery, and not otherwise; sixty per cent of the proceeds of sales of lots, plats, and graves must be applied. at least every three months to the payment of the bonds and interest. Such corporations may also agree with the person or persons from whom cemetery lands shall be purchased, to pay for such lands, as the purchase price thereof, any specified share or portion, not exceeding one-half, of the proceeds of all sales of lots or plats made from such lands; such payment to be made at such intervals as may be agreed upon. In all cases where cemetery lands shall be purchased and agreed to be paid for in the manner last provided, the prices for lots or plats specified in the by-laws, rules, or regulations first adopted by such association, or prescribed in the agreement between the cemetery and the person or persons from whom the cemetery lands were purchased, shall not be changed without the written consent of a majority in interest of the persons from whom such lands were purchased, their heirs, representatives, or assigns. En. March 21, 1872. Amd. 1880, 12.

Legislative History.

For basis of section, see sec. 608, supra. The original section is the same as the above, through "payment of bonds and interest." The rest of the section was added by amendment.

MAY TAKE AND HOLD PROPERTY OR USE INCOME THEREOF, HOW.

Sec. 612, C. C. Any corporation organized to establish and maintain, or to improve, a cemetery, may take and hold title to any cemetery lot, plat, or grave, devised or given to it in trust for the specific purpose of perpetually caring for the same. En. March 21, 1872. Amd. 1900-01, 814.

Legislative History.

For basis of section, see sec. 608, supra. The original section is as follows: "Cemetery corporations may take and hold any property bequeathed or given them on trust, or the lots, plats, or graves thereon, for the specific purpose of embellishing or improving the grounds, avenues, or superstructures of their cemeteries, to use the income thereof, for the erection, preservation, or repair of monuments therein, or for any other purpose or design consistent with the objects of the corporation.''

WHEN BURIAL LOT INALIENABLE WHO MAY NOT BE BURIED IN LOT.

Sec. 613, C. C. Whenever an interment is made in any lot or plat transferred to individual owners by the corporation, the same thereby becomes forever inalienable and descends in regular line of succession to the heirs at law of the owner. When there are several owners of interests in such lot or plat, one or more may acquire by purchase the interest of others interested in the fee simple title thereof, but no one not an owner acquires interest or right of burial therein by purchase; nor must anyone be buried in any such lot or plat not at the time owning an interest therein, or who is not a relative of such owner, or of his wife, except by consent of all jointly interested; provided, however, that when all the bodies buried in any such lot shall have been removed therefrom, with the consent of the owners of such lot, it shall be lawful for the then owners of such lot to sell and transfer the same by deed; and any such sale and transfer heretofore made is hereby declared to be valid and effectual to transfer the title to the purchaser, any law to the contrary thereof notwithstanding. En. March 21, 1872. Amd. 1885, 1.

Legislative History.

For basis of section, see sec. 608, supra. The original is the same as the above, except that it has not the proviso.

Section Cited.

Ex parte Bohen, 115 Cal. 375, 47 Pac. 55.

Annotation.

Burial in Lot by Consent.-Under this section, the owner of a lot may consent to the burial therein of one who has no interest in the lot. (Ex parte Bohen, 115 Cal. 375, 47 Pac. 55.)

LOT OWNERS PREVIOUS TO PURCHASE TO BE MEMBERS OF THE CORPORATION.

Sec. 614, C. C. When grounds purchased or otherwise acquired for cemetery purposes have been previously used as a burial ground, those who are lot owners at the time of the purchase continue to own the same, and are members of the corporation, with all the privileges a purchase of a lot from the corporation confers. En. March 21, 1872.

Legislative History.

For basis of section, see sec. 608, C. C., ante.

MAY SELL LANDS, HOW.

Sec. 615, C. C. Cemetery corporations may sell lands held by them upon obtaining an order for that purpose from the superior court of the county where the lands are situated. Before making the order, proof must be made to the satisfaction of the court that notice of the application for leave to sell has been given by publication in such manner and for such time as the court has directed, and that the lands are not required for and are not in use for burial purposes, and that it is for the interest of the corporation that such lands be sold. The application must be made by petition, and any member of the corporation may oppose the granting of the order by affidavit or otherwise. En. Stats. 1889, 61.