West Virginia Code 35-5-7 – Requirements for cemetery company contracts
(a) Any cemetery company contract shall:
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 35-5-7
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
(1) Be written in clear understandable language and printed in easy-to-read type, size and style;
(2) Include the name and address of the seller, the contract buyer and the person for whom the contract is bought if other than the contract buyer;
(3) Contain a complete description of the property, goods or services bought, including an itemization of the retail price of the property, goods or services bought and, specifically, the retail price of the monument, marker, installation, foundation, the opening and closing of the grave site and any other charges. Failure to provide this information is a violation of subsection (f), section one hundred two, article six, chapter forty-six-a of this code, relating to unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices;
(4) Clearly disclose whether the retail price of the property, goods or services bought is guaranteed;
(5) Provide that when the particular property, goods or services specified in the contract are unavailable at the time of delivery, the seller shall furnish property, goods or services similar in size, style and equal in quality of material and workmanship, and that the representative of the deceased has the right to reasonably choose the property, goods or services to be substituted; and
(6) Be executed in duplicate and a signed copy given to the buyer.
(b) For purposes of this article, the following words and phrases have the following meanings:
(1) "Cemetery company" or "seller" means any person, partnership, firm or corporation engaged in the business of operating a cemetery or selling property, goods or services used in connection with interring or disposing of the remains or commemorating the memory of a deceased human being.
(2) "Cemetery company contract" means a contract for the sale of real and personal property, goods or services used in connection with interring or disposing of the remains or commemorating the memory of a deceased human being.