A. No person shall participate as a seller in more than four consummated resale transactions in any calendar year except as authorized by this section or § 54.1-2312.2.

Terms Used In Virginia Code 54.1-2312.1

  • At-need: means at the time of death or while death is imminent. See Virginia Code 54.1-2310
  • Board: means the Cemetery Board. See Virginia Code 54.1-2310
  • Cemetery: means any land or structure used or intended to be used for the interment of human remains. See Virginia Code 54.1-2310
  • Cemetery company: means any person engaged in the business of (i) selling or offering for sale any grave or entombment right in a cemetery and representing to the public that the entire cemetery, a single grave, or entombment right therein will be perpetually cared for; (ii) selling property or services, vaults, grave liners, urns, memorials, markers, and monuments used in connection with interring or disposing of the remains or commemorating the memory of a deceased human being, where delivery of the property or performance of the service may be delayed more than 120 days after receipt of the initial payment on account of such sale; or (iii) maintaining a facility used for the interment or disposal of the remains and required to maintain perpetual care or preneed trust funds in accordance with this chapter. See Virginia Code 54.1-2310
  • Interment: means all forms of final disposal of human remains including, but not limited to, earth burial, mausoleum entombment and niche or columbarium inurnment. See Virginia Code 54.1-2310
  • Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • Resale: means the sale of an interment right in a cemetery governed by this chapter to a person other than the cemetery company owning the cemetery in which the right exists by a person other than that cemetery company or its authorized agent. See Virginia Code 54.1-2310
  • Seller: means the cemetery company. See Virginia Code 54.1-2310

B. Unless exempted by subsection A, no resale transaction shall be valid unless:

1. The resale is at-need;

2. The seller is (i) a funeral director, embalmer, establishment, or service licensed pursuant to Chapter 28 (§ 54.1-2800 et seq.) or (ii) a cemetery company licensed pursuant to this chapter;

3. No more than one interment right is transferred by the transaction;

4. Any merchandise, personal property, or service purchased in the original pre-need transaction is transferred with the interment right;

5. The resale is approved, pursuant to subsection C, by the cemetery company that owns the cemetery in which the interment right exists; and

6. The seller provides written notice to the buyer that the resale transaction is contingent upon (i) approval by the cemetery company that owns the cemetery in which the interment right exists, (ii) payment of the cemetery transfer fee, and (iii) compliance with the provisions of this section.

C. A cemetery company shall approve a resale transaction upon receipt of a valid transfer form that has been acknowledged by the buyer as required by subsection D 6, a reasonable cemetery transfer fee to be set by the cemetery company, and a copy of the bill of sale or other document confirming the resale, provided such approval is consistent with the current rules and regulations of the cemetery company.

D. The transfer form shall be provided by the seller to the buyer at the time of the resale and shall be valid only when signed by the seller, buyer, and cemetery company. At a minimum, the transfer form shall contain the following information:

1. The name and address of each seller and buyer;

2. The valid license number of each seller under Chapter 28 (§ 54.1-2800 et seq.) or under this chapter;

3. A complete description of the location of the property for which the interment right is being sold;

4. A clear disclosure of the cemetery transfer fee;

5. The name, address, and telephone number of the Board and a statement that the Board is the regulatory agency that handles consumer complaints; and

6. An acknowledgement that the buyer has read, understands, and agrees to abide by the current rules and regulations of the cemetery and its current general price list, as applicable.

The information required to be included in the transfer form by subdivisions 1 through 5 shall be provided by the seller.

E. In the event a resale is not approved by the cemetery company under this section, the resale transaction shall be void and within 30 days the seller shall refund to the buyer any and all moneys paid pursuant to the transaction and the buyer shall return to the seller any merchandise or personal property that was transferred to the buyer by the seller as a part of the resale.

2011, c. 792; 2013, c. 395.

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