§903.1. Cemeteries; maintenance of vaults and wall vaults more than fifty years old;
reclamation by authority
A. Cemetery authorities of municipal, religious, and nonprofit cemeteries may
renovate, repair, and maintain vaults and wall vaults in question, at their own cost or in
conjunction with any private, state, or federal grant or fund, vaults and wall vaults over fifty
years old, or vaults and wall vaults located in cemeteries more than one hundred years old,
which have deteriorated or are in a ruinous state under the following conditions:
(1) In the event that the cemetery authority has no evidence of ownership or
interments in the vault or wall vault in question, it may immediately make the repairs,
renovations, and maintenance and after same have been completed, publish as part of a
general notice in the official journal of the parish or municipality a notice notifying all
persons that if no one comes forward to the office of the cemetery authority with written
evidence of ownership of the vault or wall vault in question within sixty days of the date of
publication, then the cemetery authority shall have the right to reclaim the ownership of the
vault or wall vault in question and resell same.
(2) In the event that there is evidence of an interment or interments in the vault or
wall vault in question, and the cemetery authority has no evidence of ownership, the remains
may be immediately removed and temporarily reinterred at another location, and the
cemetery authority shall then have the power to immediately make the renovations, repairs,
and maintenance necessary, and the same notice procedure set forth in Paragraph (1) of this
Subsection shall be followed, except that all persons shall have six months to come forward
to the office of the cemetery authority and present written evidence of ownership in the vault
or wall vault in question, and in the event that anyone fails to do so within the time
prescribed, then the vault or wall vault may be reclaimed by the cemetery authority and
resold.
(3) In the event that records of the cemetery authority indicate that there is a record
owner of the vault or wall vault in question, the remains, if any, may be immediately
removed and temporarily reinterred at another location, and the cemetery authority shall have
the right and power to immediately make the necessary renovations, repairs, and
maintenance, then the cemetery authority shall attempt to contact the owner by registered or
certified mail at his last known address, and also publish as part of a general notice in the
official journal of the parish or municipality in question a notice stating that in the event the
owner or his heirs fail to come forward to the office of the cemetery authority within six
months of the date of the notice and submit written proof of ownership, then the vault or wall
vault in question may be reclaimed and resold by the cemetery authority.
(4) In addition to the notifications called for in Paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of this
Subsection, the cemetery authority shall also post a common or general sign or notice in a
conspicuous place in the cemetery informing the public of the above so that claimants may
come forward in the manner prescribed in this Section to assert their rights.
(5) Under no circumstances shall the cemetery authority be prevented from doing
repairs, renovations, and maintenance to vaults or wall vaults if same are necessary for the
preservation of the section of vaults or wall vaults in question or the beautification of the
cemetery. If it becomes necessary to remove remains therefrom, the cemetery authority shall
have this right and power as set forth in this Subsection, but the remains shall be kept
separate until the prescribed time period has elapsed so that they can be identified.
(6) After the renovations, repairs, and maintenance have been completed and the
prescribed time period has lapsed, and the cemetery authority has reclaimed the ownership
of the vault or wall vault in question, then all of the remains removed in accordance with the
provisions of this Subsection shall be interred in a common burial place, but the cemetery
authority shall retain records, tablets, stones, and other information regarding which vaults
or wall vaults were removed from and the interments therein, and the names of the deceased
persons in question, if they are available.
(7) Under no circumstances shall this Subsection be construed to prevent a cemetery
authority from immediately making repairs, renovations, or maintenance of wall vaults in the
event that it is necessary for the protection of the health and welfare of the general public.
(8) If a person comes forward to the cemetery authority within the time periods
prescribed in Paragraphs (1) through (3) of this Subsection with satisfactory written evidence
of ownership or title to the vault or wall vault in question, the cemetery authority may require
that he pay his pro rata share, to be reasonably determined by the cemetery authority, of all
actual costs and expenses of repairs, renovations, and maintenance before the vault or wall
vault may thereafter be used by him and his title thereto confirmed. If there is some other
impediment or objection to reuse of the vault or wall vault in question, he shall still pay his
pro rata share of all costs as set forth in this Section to confirm his title to same, otherwise
ownership or title may be reclaimed by the cemetery authority and the space resold. Under
no circumstances shall the owner of the vault or wall vault in question be able to object to
the repairs, renovations, and maintenance done or to be done if it is necessary for the
preservation of the section of vaults, or wall vaults in question, or the protection of the health
and welfare of the general public.
B. The provisions in this Section shall be inapplicable with respect to any tomb,
vault, or wall vault placed in perpetual care.
Added by Acts 1982, No. 564, §1. Acts 1991, No. 289, §4; Acts 1992, No. 82, §1;
Acts 2022, No. 574, §1.