WEBVTT - Could You Legally Bury Someone in Your Backyard?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works, Hi brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren vogelbam here. A century ago, when most Americans lived

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<v Speaker 1>on farms or a family land passed through the generations,

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<v Speaker 1>it made perfect sense to bury loved ones close to home.

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<v Speaker 1>But if you bring up the subject of a backyard

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<v Speaker 1>burial today, get ready for some strange looks. With the

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<v Speaker 1>rising popularity of natural burials in both conventional and eco

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<v Speaker 1>friendly or green cemeteries, it's fair to ask what's stopping

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<v Speaker 1>us from bringing the burial process back home. We were

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<v Speaker 1>morbidly curious about what it would take, so we reached

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<v Speaker 1>out to Lee Webster, president of the National Home Funeral Alliance,

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<v Speaker 1>to learn about the legal and practical considerations you should

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<v Speaker 1>take when planning a home burial. Home burials are completely legal,

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<v Speaker 1>or at least not explicitly forbidden in every state except California, Indiana, Washington,

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<v Speaker 1>and the District of Columbia. In d C. It's a

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<v Speaker 1>space issue, as in there is no space in California.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a different kind of real estate problem. The concern

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<v Speaker 1>is that future landowners could subdivide parcels and accidentally dig

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<v Speaker 1>up undisclosed graves. According to California law, anyone who deposits

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<v Speaker 1>or disposes of any human remains in any place except

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<v Speaker 1>a cemetery is guilty of a misdemeanor and could face

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<v Speaker 1>jail time or a fine up to ten tho dollars.

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<v Speaker 1>Even if your state allows home burials, it would be

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<v Speaker 1>wise to check with your local zoning board or planning

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<v Speaker 1>commission before digging. In some states and individual counties have

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<v Speaker 1>rules about the minimum distance the burial plot needs to

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<v Speaker 1>be from resources like bodies of water, electrical lines, other buildings,

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<v Speaker 1>and roads. Those distances are known as setbacks. In New Hampshire,

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<v Speaker 1>for example, plots need to be at least fifty feet

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<v Speaker 1>that's fifteen meters away from a known water source, and

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<v Speaker 1>twice that far from any buildings. One result of these

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<v Speaker 1>zonning laws is that it's all but impossible to bury

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<v Speaker 1>someone in a suburban backyard. There simply isn't enough space

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<v Speaker 1>on most properties to manage the setback restrictions, even if

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<v Speaker 1>you wouldn't freak out the neighbors, which brings up an

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<v Speaker 1>important consideration property value. As our funeral expert Webster said,

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<v Speaker 1>having dead bodies on your property isn't exactly a boon

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<v Speaker 1>where real estate is concerned. If you choose to bury

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<v Speaker 1>a loved one on your land, you should think of

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<v Speaker 1>the land as a multigenerational investment, because many folks simply

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<v Speaker 1>won't want a piece of property with that kind of history.

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<v Speaker 1>But if you own a large enough piece of land

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<v Speaker 1>away from roads and nosy neighbors, and if you don't

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<v Speaker 1>plan on moving anytime soon, you're free to pick out

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<v Speaker 1>a burial plot. A few tips, choose a location far

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<v Speaker 1>from any streams or rivers because they can erode and

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<v Speaker 1>meander over time, which would put the loved ones remains

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<v Speaker 1>at risk. Pick a high point on the property that's

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<v Speaker 1>far from the water table, and if possible, choose the

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<v Speaker 1>location as part of a long term land conservation plan

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<v Speaker 1>to preserve the space for future generations. Once you pick

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<v Speaker 1>a location, you will be required to create a special

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<v Speaker 1>easement in the deed for your property, and easement provides

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<v Speaker 1>for future public access to the grave site. You don't

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<v Speaker 1>have to provide any physical access route like a path

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<v Speaker 1>or ode, just to clause in the deed identifying the

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<v Speaker 1>location of the burial plot. After your loved one passes away,

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<v Speaker 1>the next of kin has the legal right and responsibility

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<v Speaker 1>to handle all of the funeral arrangements. However, there are

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<v Speaker 1>ten states in which a funeral director must be hired

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<v Speaker 1>in order to file the death certificate or in some cases,

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<v Speaker 1>remove the body from the hospital. The most restrictive rules

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<v Speaker 1>are in New York and Louisiana, where a licensed funeral

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<v Speaker 1>director must oversee just about anything concerning the body or

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<v Speaker 1>the funeral itself. In most cases, the family has the

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<v Speaker 1>right to care for the body at home. If the

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<v Speaker 1>burial is performed within twenty four hours of death, you

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<v Speaker 1>can skip any requirements for refrigeration or embalming after twenty

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<v Speaker 1>four hours. Some states insist on a method of preservation,

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<v Speaker 1>particularly if the person died of an infectious disease. The

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<v Speaker 1>aforementioned National Home Funeral Alliance lists states individual rules on

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<v Speaker 1>their website. If you don't hire a funeral director, it's

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<v Speaker 1>the family's responsibility to fill out and file the death certificate.

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<v Speaker 1>The doctors or hospice staff will handle the medical portion,

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<v Speaker 1>but you need to fill in a few personal details.

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<v Speaker 1>The trickier part can be filing the certificate, which usually

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<v Speaker 1>happens at a country clerk or registrar's office. If it's

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<v Speaker 1>a Saturday or holiday, or simply after five o'clock, you'll

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<v Speaker 1>have to wait funeral directors. By the way, it can

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<v Speaker 1>file electronically. Seven. The good news, says Webster, is that

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<v Speaker 1>there are no funeral police. No one's going to come

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<v Speaker 1>after you if you miss by a few hours. It's

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<v Speaker 1>just a formality that has to be taken care of

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<v Speaker 1>when it comes to the actual burial. Several states require

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<v Speaker 1>a minimum depth for the body, notes Webster. Only New

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<v Speaker 1>Mexico requires the classic six feet or one point eight meters,

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<v Speaker 1>and a New Jersey sets the depth at four ft

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<v Speaker 1>or one point two meters. In most other circumstances, there

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<v Speaker 1>only needs to be between eighteen and thirty inches that's

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<v Speaker 1>forty five to seventy six cimes of soil between the

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<v Speaker 1>top of the body and the surface. Even this depth

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<v Speaker 1>helps speed decomposition and ensures that the body is well

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<v Speaker 1>beyond the smell barrier and therefore safe from scavenging animals. Interestingly,

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<v Speaker 1>you don't have to create any kind of official family

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<v Speaker 1>cemetery before burying a body on your property. Webster explains

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<v Speaker 1>it works a reverse. Essentially, if you put a dead

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<v Speaker 1>body on a piece of property, it becomes a cemetery.

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<v Speaker 1>This has to do with anti desecration law and cemetery

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<v Speaker 1>law that goes way back to Roman times. Once the

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<v Speaker 1>body is laid to rest, your last legal responsibility is

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<v Speaker 1>to notify your local semetary trustees or commissioners on the

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<v Speaker 1>location of the grave. They'll file that information for the

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<v Speaker 1>public record, as with any other cemetery plot. If you're

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<v Speaker 1>interested in a home funeral for yourself or a loved one,

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<v Speaker 1>consider contacting a home funeral guide in your area. They

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<v Speaker 1>can help you navigate local burial laws and create a

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<v Speaker 1>positive and family centered end of life experience. Today's episode

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<v Speaker 1>was written by Dave Ruse and produced by Tristan McNeil.

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<v Speaker 1>For more on this and lots of other curious topics,

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<v Speaker 1>visit our home planet, how Stuff Works dot com.