Burial Laws in Florida

Cemeteries are places where we go to commemorate our passed-away relatives and friends. Florida has numerous known, unknown, unofficial and abandoned cemeteries and burial sites inside its state lines. Even you might have an unknown or ancient burial site on your private property. Whether you own the land where the cemetery is located or you want to visit a cemetery on a private land, you should know what the burial laws in Florida contain.

Cemetaries are governed by complex state laws.

Disturbance of Human Remains

Whether you have an official or an unofficial burial site or cemetery on your property, it is illegal to willfully and knowingly disturb human remains. In addition, it is illegal to disturb any kind of memorials including fences, tombstones, markers and vegetation. No exceptions are given to private property owners or family, community or tribal representatives.

Profiting From Human Remains

It is illegal to gain profit by buying or selling dead bodies or even have the thought of purposefully trying to sell or buy a dead body. The only exception of this rule is if the body is to be used in medical education or for research purposes in an institution of higher education. Based on this law, it is also illegal to sell skulls, bones or any other remains of American Indians.

Moving Graves Or Remains

Only licensed funeral directors with a valid burial transit permit are allowed to remove buried human remains. Moving human remains for any reason is almost always a controversial issue and before you can remove human remains, you need to obtain permission from the descendants.

If you encounter unmarked human remains, you are by law obligated to notify local law enforcement. Do not remove or disturb the remains in any way and stop all activities that can disturb the burial site. After this, professionals capable of recognizing the remains are called to investigate and decide whether the remains need to be removed or if other actions need to be taken to protect the remains. Do not let anyone else except law enforcement officer, medical examiner or archaeologist representing the Florida Division of Historical Resources to remove or disturb the remains. A failure to notify law enforcement gives grounds for a second degree misdemeanor suit.

Abandoned and Unmarked Cemeteries

Florida has thousands abandoned cemeteries or cemeteries that are not maintained any longer. According to the Florida law, a county or municipality is responsible of the maintenance and security of the abandoned cemeteries or cemeteries that have not been maintained for more than six months. The county or municipality can, however, sue the property owners to recover the costs of maintaining the cemeteries on their properties.

Access and Maintenance

If your relatives are buried on a property that is privately owned and not an official cemetery, you still have a right to enter the cemetery at reasonable times using reasonable manners. In addition, you have the right to request the property owner to provide necessary maintenance or maintain the cemetery yourself. If the property owner denies access to the cemetery, contact local law enforcement.

References

• Florida Burial Laws