Guide To Buying A Burial Plot
For those who are unaware, a burial plot is an area of land in a cemetery or another type of burial ground. This is usually where the grave of a person who has died is located. Burial plots can be for individuals or multiple people, such as a couple or family after they have passed. Speaking generally, burial plots usually are not for sale but are instead leased for a set period of time, which based on the owner’s requirements. During the lease memorials when the plot is owned, items such as headstones are usually erected above a grave to mark a burial plot.
Families can usually find more comfort in investing in burial plots for their family members as they are laid to rest in a comforting environment that may be of significance to the family, or on the other hand, be close by to where other family members may have been buried. Whatever reason the burial plot has been chosen, there is usually a significant reason behind it to provide comfort for the family. This blog is a useful guide to all aspects of burial plots for you to use before making an investment.
What is Exclusive Right of Burial For Burial Plots?
Exclusive Right of Burial is the name for the lease of a burial plot or cremation plot in a cemetery or garden of remembrance for a specific period of time set out by the landowners. During the period of the lease, nobody else can be buried in the plot, but it will eventually expire. When arranging to lease a burial plot, you will be provided with the timescale of when the land will be owned.
What Period Of Time Can Exclusive Right of Burial Cover?
Typically, the period of time covered by Exclusive Right of Burial is between 50 and 100 years, but this can vary between landowners and scale of the land. After the period given has ended, the lease can then be renewed by the grave-owner for a set fee, which again can vary between landowners. When an Exclusive Right of Burial has expired, the cemetery-owner will try to contact any next of kin or descendants of the bereaved in the land before digging a new grave in the burial plot. Unless the next of kin or descendants wish to extend the Exclusive Right of Burial.
What Is a Woodland Burial Plot?
A woodland burial plot, which is also sometimes called a natural burial plot, is situated in an area of land reserved specifically for green burials called a natural burial ground. Interment in a woodland burial plot is usually only permitted if it meets certain conditions, such as the use of eco-friendly coffins, which differentiates from regular burial plots where conditions of burial are far more relaxed.
Is There A Set Cost For Burial Plot?
There is no set cost of a burial plot. It is entirely dependent on the cemetery, the location within it and the type of plot. A standard, single-depth burial could cost fluctuate depending on the location; for example, burial plots in major cities, such as London, would be far more expensive than rural areas.
More frequently, woodland burial plots are usually much less costly than a traditional burial plot in a cemetery, and the rights to these usually include permanent ownership rather than leasing. The cost of a woodland burial plot does vary between natural burial grounds and their locations, with land being more expensive in major cities.
The cost of a burial plot usually covers three elements: Exclusive Right of Burial (also known as grave deeds), right of burial Interment, and digging the grave. Other costs to factor include purchasing a headstone or plaque to mark the location of the grave, and having it erected by a memorial mason that is approved by the cemetery. Most cemeteries only permit masons that are approved by them to erect memorials in their land. Many natural burial grounds only permit small, environmentally-friendly markers, such as wooden plaques, and others do not permit any kind of memorial markers, which is why these are usually cheaper and can be owned.
Where Can Burial Plots Be Purchased From?
Commonly, you do not buy a burial plot directly from cemetery-owners, but you arrange it via your funeral director. The cost of a burial plot is mostly a third-party fee that’s added to the total bill when a funeral is arranged for your loved one. The cost of Exclusive Right of Burial in a burial plot is usually not covered by a funeral plan as prices can regularly change.
What Happens When An Exclusive Right Of Burial Reaches Its Expiry?
When an Exclusive Right of Burial reaches expiry, the grave owner may then have to prove that they have the ownership rights to the plot by providing specific documentation, such as death certificates, birth certificates and wills or deeds of grants over the grave. If families are unclear on who is the grave-owner for a burial plot containing a relative, they might need to agree who will have responsibility for it or the burial plot may be lost.
In cemeteries where there is an increasing demand for burial plots, new graves may be a plot that someone else was originally buried in beforehand. This usually occurs when there has been no new burial in the grave for a minimum of 75 years as the coffin will have decayed by this point. A new grave can then be dug above the original one, and any remains will be buried below the new grave.
Funeral Directors Weston-Super-Mare
The Elms Funeral Directors are here to support you each step of the way for the funeral service that is required for your bereaved loved one. By choosing us, we can efficiently ensure that burial plots can be considered and can arrange for burials to take place in burials plots you may already have exclusive right of burial for. If a loved one has recently passed and you are looking for a funeral directors in Weston Super Mare to give your loved one the send-off they deserve, get in touch with our team at Elms. To make an enquiry regarding our services, call us today or leave us a message.