Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works, Hi brain Stuff,
Speaker 1: Lauren vogelbam here. A century ago, when most Americans lived
Speaker 1: on farms or a family land passed through the generations,
Speaker 1: it made perfect sense to bury loved ones close to home.
Speaker 1: But if you bring up the subject of a backyard
Speaker 1: burial today, get ready for some strange looks. With the
Speaker 1: rising popularity of natural burials in both conventional and eco
Speaker 1: friendly or green cemeteries, it's fair to ask what's stopping
Speaker 1: us from bringing the burial process back home. We were
Speaker 1: morbidly curious about what it would take, so we reached
Speaker 1: out to Lee Webster, president of the National Home Funeral Alliance,
Speaker 1: to learn about the legal and practical considerations you should
Speaker 1: take when planning a home burial. Home burials are completely legal,
Speaker 1: or at least not explicitly forbidden in every state except California, Indiana, Washington,
Speaker 1: and the District of Columbia. In d C. It's a
Speaker 1: space issue, as in there is no space in California.
Speaker 1: It's a different kind of real estate problem. The concern
Speaker 1: is that future landowners could subdivide parcels and accidentally dig
Speaker 1: up undisclosed graves. According to California law, anyone who deposits
Speaker 1: or disposes of any human remains in any place except
Speaker 1: a cemetery is guilty of a misdemeanor and could face
Speaker 1: jail time or a fine up to ten tho dollars.
Speaker 1: Even if your state allows home burials, it would be
Speaker 1: wise to check with your local zoning board or planning
Speaker 1: commission before digging. In some states and individual counties have
Speaker 1: rules about the minimum distance the burial plot needs to
Speaker 1: be from resources like bodies of water, electrical lines, other buildings,
Speaker 1: and roads. Those distances are known as setbacks. In New Hampshire,
Speaker 1: for example, plots need to be at least fifty feet
Speaker 1: that's fifteen meters away from a known water source, and
Speaker 1: twice that far from any buildings. One result of these
Speaker 1: zonning laws is that it's all but impossible to bury
Speaker 1: someone in a suburban backyard. There simply isn't enough space
Speaker 1: on most properties to manage the setback restrictions, even if
Speaker 1: you wouldn't freak out the neighbors, which brings up an
Speaker 1: important consideration property value. As our funeral expert Webster said,
Speaker 1: having dead bodies on your property isn't exactly a boon
Speaker 1: where real estate is concerned. If you choose to bury
Speaker 1: a loved one on your land, you should think of
Speaker 1: the land as a multigenerational investment, because many folks simply
Speaker 1: won't want a piece of property with that kind of history.
Speaker 1: But if you own a large enough piece of land
Speaker 1: away from roads and nosy neighbors, and if you don't
Speaker 1: plan on moving anytime soon, you're free to pick out
Speaker 1: a burial plot. A few tips, choose a location far
Speaker 1: from any streams or rivers because they can erode and
Speaker 1: meander over time, which would put the loved ones remains
Speaker 1: at risk. Pick a high point on the property that's
Speaker 1: far from the water table, and if possible, choose the
Speaker 1: location as part of a long term land conservation plan
Speaker 1: to preserve the space for future generations. Once you pick
Speaker 1: a location, you will be required to create a special
Speaker 1: easement in the deed for your property, and easement provides
Speaker 1: for future public access to the grave site. You don't
Speaker 1: have to provide any physical access route like a path
Speaker 1: or ode, just to clause in the deed identifying the
Speaker 1: location of the burial plot. After your loved one passes away,
Speaker 1: the next of kin has the legal right and responsibility
Speaker 1: to handle all of the funeral arrangements. However, there are
Speaker 1: ten states in which a funeral director must be hired
Speaker 1: in order to file the death certificate or in some cases,
Speaker 1: remove the body from the hospital. The most restrictive rules
Speaker 1: are in New York and Louisiana, where a licensed funeral
Speaker 1: director must oversee just about anything concerning the body or
Speaker 1: the funeral itself. In most cases, the family has the
Speaker 1: right to care for the body at home. If the
Speaker 1: burial is performed within twenty four hours of death, you
Speaker 1: can skip any requirements for refrigeration or embalming after twenty
Speaker 1: four hours. Some states insist on a method of preservation,
Speaker 1: particularly if the person died of an infectious disease. The
Speaker 1: aforementioned National Home Funeral Alliance lists states individual rules on
Speaker 1: their website. If you don't hire a funeral director, it's
Speaker 1: the family's responsibility to fill out and file the death certificate.
Speaker 1: The doctors or hospice staff will handle the medical portion,
Speaker 1: but you need to fill in a few personal details.
Speaker 1: The trickier part can be filing the certificate, which usually
Speaker 1: happens at a country clerk or registrar's office. If it's
Speaker 1: a Saturday or holiday, or simply after five o'clock, you'll
Speaker 1: have to wait funeral directors. By the way, it can
Speaker 1: file electronically. Seven. The good news, says Webster, is that
Speaker 1: there are no funeral police. No one's going to come
Speaker 1: after you if you miss by a few hours. It's
Speaker 1: just a formality that has to be taken care of
Speaker 1: when it comes to the actual burial. Several states require
Speaker 1: a minimum depth for the body, notes Webster. Only New
Speaker 1: Mexico requires the classic six feet or one point eight meters,
Speaker 1: and a New Jersey sets the depth at four ft
Speaker 1: or one point two meters. In most other circumstances, there
Speaker 1: only needs to be between eighteen and thirty inches that's
Speaker 1: forty five to seventy six cimes of soil between the
Speaker 1: top of the body and the surface. Even this depth
Speaker 1: helps speed decomposition and ensures that the body is well
Speaker 1: beyond the smell barrier and therefore safe from scavenging animals. Interestingly,
Speaker 1: you don't have to create any kind of official family
Speaker 1: cemetery before burying a body on your property. Webster explains
Speaker 1: it works a reverse. Essentially, if you put a dead
Speaker 1: body on a piece of property, it becomes a cemetery.
Speaker 1: This has to do with anti desecration law and cemetery
Speaker 1: law that goes way back to Roman times. Once the
Speaker 1: body is laid to rest, your last legal responsibility is
Speaker 1: to notify your local semetary trustees or commissioners on the
Speaker 1: location of the grave. They'll file that information for the
Speaker 1: public record, as with any other cemetery plot. If you're
Speaker 1: interested in a home funeral for yourself or a loved one,
Speaker 1: consider contacting a home funeral guide in your area. They
Speaker 1: can help you navigate local burial laws and create a
Speaker 1: positive and family centered end of life experience. Today's episode
Speaker 1: was written by Dave Ruse and produced by Tristan McNeil.
Speaker 1: For more on this and lots of other curious topics,
Speaker 1: visit our home planet, how Stuff Works dot com.