COUNTY CEMETERY COMMISSIONS
AND NEGLECTED CEMETERIES
523I.401 Neglected cemeteries.
The commissioner shall create a form that interested persons may use to report neglected cemeteries to the commissioner. The commissioner shall catalog and review the neglected cemetery reports received on or before December 31, 2007, conduct site visits as warranted to determine the nature or extent of any neglect, and publish a report of findings on or before December 31, 2008.
2005 Acts, ch 128. §39
NEW section
1. Upon a showing of good cause, a county cemetery commission may file suit in the district court in that county to have remains interred in a cemetery owned and operated by the commission removed to another cemetery. All persons in interest, known or unknown, other than the plaintiffs, shall be made defendants to the suit. If any parties are unknown, notice may be given by publication. After hearing and a showing of good cause for the removal, the court may order the removal of the remains and the remains shall be properly interred in another cemetery, at the expense of the county. The removal and reinterment of the remains shall be done pursuant to a disinterment permit issued under section 144.34 with due care and decency. In deciding whether to order the removal of interred remains, a court shall consider present or future access to the cemetery, the historical significance of the cemetery, and the wishes of the parties concerned if they are brought to the court's attention, including the desire of any beneficiaries to reserve their rights to waive a reservation of rights in favor of removal, and shall exercise the court's sound discretion in granting or refusing the removal of interred remains.
2. Any heir at law or descendent of a deceased person interred in a neglected cemetery may file suit in the district court in the county where the cemetery is located to have the deceased person's remains interred in the cemetery removed to another cemetery. The owner of the land, any beneficiaries of any reservation of rights, and any other persons in interest, known or unknown, other than the plaintiffs shall be made defendants. If any parties are unknown, notice may be given by publication. After hearing and upon a showing of good cause, the court may order removal and the proper interment of the remains in another cemetery, at the expense of the petitioner. The removal and reinterment shall be done with due care and decency.
2005 Acts, ch 128. §40
NEW section
SUBCHAPTER V
GOVERNMENTAL SUBDIVISIONS
The governing body of a governmental subdivision may purchase, establish, operate, enclose, improve, or regulate a cemetery. A cemetery owned or operated by a governmental subdivision may sell interment rights subject to the provisions of this chapter.
2005 Acts, ch 128. §4l
NEW section
1. A governmental subdivision that owns or operates a cemetery or has control of cemetery property may act as a permanent trustee for the perpetual maintenance of interment spaces in the cemetery.
2. To act as a trustee, a majority of the governmental subdivision's governing body must adopt an ordinance or resolution stating the governmental subdivision's willingness and intention to act as a trustee for the perpetual maintenance of cemetery property. When the ordinance or resolution is adopted and the trust is accepted, the trust is perpetual.
2005 Acts, ch 128. §42
NEW section
523I.503 Authority to receive gifts and deposits for care - certificates.
1. A governmental subdivision that is a trustee for the perpetual maintenance of a cemetery may adopt reasonable rules governing the receipt of a gift or grant from any source.
2. A governmental subdivision that is a trustee for a person shall accept the amount the governmental subdivision requires for permanent maintenance of an interment space on behalf of that person or a decedent.
3. A governmental subdivision's acceptance of a deposit for permanent maintenance of an interment space constitutes a perpetual trust for the designated interment space.
4. Upon acceptance of a deposit, a governmental subdivision's secretary, clerk, or mayor shall issue a certificate in the name of the governmental subdivision to the trustee or depositor. The certificate shall state all of the following:
a. The depositor's name.
b. The amount and purpose of the deposit.
c. The location, with as much specificity as possible, of the interment space to be maintained.
d. Other information required by the governmental subdivision.
5. An individual, association, foundation, or corporation that is interested in the maintenance of a neglected cemetery in a governmental subdivision's possession and control may donate funds to the cemetery's perpetual trust fund to beautify and maintain the entire cemetery or burial grounds generally.
2005 Acts, ch 128. §43
NEW section
523I.504 Appointment of successor trustee.
A district judge of a county in which a cemetery is located shall appoint a suitable successor or trustee to faithfully execute a trust in accordance with this subchapter if a governmental subdivision renounces a trust assumed under this subchapter, fails to act as its trustee, a vacancy occurs, or the appointment of a successor or trustee is otherwise necessary.
2005 Acts, ch 128. §44
NEW section
523I.505 County auditor as trustee.
1. In the absence of a trustee for care funds, unless otherwise provided by law, the care funds shall be placed in the hands of the county auditor, who shall provide a receipt for, loan, and make annual reports of the care funds.
2. The county auditor shall not be required to post a bond.
3. The county auditor shall serve without compensation, but may, out of the income received, pay all proper items of expense incurred in the performance of the auditor's duties as trustee, if any.
4. The county auditor shall make a full report of the trustee's actions and trust funds annually in January. The net proceeds for care funds received by the county auditor as trustee shall be apportioned and credited to each of any separate care funds assigned to the auditor.
5. The county auditor shall turn over the accrued income from each care fund annually to the person having control of the cemetery.
2005 Acts, ch 128. §45
NEW section
523I.506 Commingling of care funds by governmental subdivisions.
A governmental subdivision subject to this section may commingle care funds for more than one cemetery for the purposes of investment and administration and may file a single report, if each cemetery is appropriately identified and separate records are maintained for each cemetery.
2005 Acts, ch 128. §46
NEW section
523I.507 Investment of care funds by governmental subdivisions.
Notwithstanding section 12B.10, a perpetual care cemetery owned by a governmental subdivision may invest and reinvest deposits pursuant to the requirements of this chapter. The trustee shall use the judgment and care under the circumstances then prevailing that persons of prudence, discretion, and intelligence exercise in the management of their own affairs, not in regard to speculation but in regard to the permanent disposition of their funds, considering the probable income as well as the probable safety of their capital. The trustee of the trust funds has a fiduciary duty to make reasonable investment decisions and to properly oversee and manage the funds entrusted to the trust fund.
2005 Acts, ch 128. §47
NEW section
523I.508 Management by governmental subdivisions.
1. Political subdivisions as trustees. Counties, cities, irrespective of their form of government, boards of trustees of cities to whom the management of municipal cemeteries has been transferred by ordinance, and civil townships wholly outside of any city, are trustees in perpetuity, and are required to accept, receive, and expend all moneys and property donated or left to them by bequest for perpetual care, and that portion of interment space sales or permanent charges made against interment spaces which has been set aside in a perpetual care fund for which there is no other acting trustee, shall be used in caring for the property of the donor or lot owner who by purchase or otherwise has provided for the perpetual care of an interment space in any cemetery, or in accordance with the terms of the donation, bequest, or agreement for sale and purchase of an interment space, and the money or property thus received shall be used for no other purpose.
2. Authority to invest funds -- current care charge payments. The board of supervisors, mayor and council, or other elected governmental body, as the case may be, may receive and invest all moneys and property, donated or bequeathed, and that portion of cemetery lot sales and permanent charges made against cemetery lots which have been set aside in a perpetual care fund, and in so investing, shall use the judgment and care under the circumstances then prevailing that persons of prudence, discretion, and intelligence exercise in the management of their own affairs not in regard to speculation but in regard to the permanent disposition of their funds, considering the probable income as well as the probable safety of their capital. The trustee of the trust funds has a fiduciary duty to make reasonable investment decisions and to properly oversee and manage the funds entrusted to the trust fund. The income from the investment shall be used in caring for the property of the donor in any cemetery, or as provided in the terms of the gift or donations or agreement for sale and purchase of a cemetery lot.
All current care charge payments received shall be allocated to the perpetual care fund or to the fund paying the costs of cemetery operations. Care charge payments received one year or more after the date they were incurred shall be used to fund the cost of operating the cemetery. Care charge payments received one year or more in advance of their due date shall be deposited in the perpetual care fund. Interest from the perpetual care fund shall be used for the maintenance of both occupied and unoccupied lots or spaces. Any remaining interest may be used for costs of access roads and paths, fencing, and general maintenance of the cemetery. Lots under perpetual care shall be maintained in accordance with the cemetery covenants of sale.
3. Resolution of acceptance -- interest. Before any part of the principal may be invested or used, the county, city, board of trustees of a city to whom the management of a municipal cemetery has been transferred by ordinance, or civil township shall, by resolution, accept the moneys described in subsection 1 and, by resolution, shall provide for the payment of interest annually to the appropriate fund, or to the cemetery, or the person in charge of the cemetery, to be used in caring for or maintaining the individual property of the donor in the cemetery, or interment spaces which have been sold if provision was made for perpetual care, all in accordance with the terms of the donation or bequest, or the terms of the sale or purchase of an interment space.
If there is no person in charge of the cemetery, the income from the fund shall be expended under the direction of the board of supervisors, city council, board of trustees, or civil township trustees, as the case may be, in accordance with the terms of the donation or bequest, or the terms of the sale or purchase of an interment space.
4. Delegates to conventions. A township having one or more cemeteries under its control may designate up to two officials from each cemetery as delegates to attend meetings of cemetery officials, and certain expenses of the delegates not exceeding twenty-five dollars for each delegate, including association dues, may be paid out of the cemetery fund of the township.
5. Subscribing to publications. The cemetery officials of every township having a cemetery under its control may subscribe to one or more publications devoted exclusively to cemetery management, and the subscriptions may be paid out of the cemetery fund of the township.
2005 Acts, ch 128. §48
NEW section
SUBCHAPTER VI
GENERAL PROVISIONS
523I.601 Settlement of estates - maintenance fund.
The court in which the estate of a deceased person is administered, before final distribution, may allow and set apart from the estate a sum sufficient to provide an income adequate to pay for the perpetual care and upkeep of the interment space in which the body of the deceased is buried, except where perpetual care has otherwise been provided for. The sum so allowed and set apart shall be paid to a trustee as provided by this chapter.
2005 Acts, ch 128. §49
NEW section
523I.602 Management by trustee.
1. Trustee appointed -- trust funds. The owners of, or any party interested in, a cemetery may, by petition presented to the district court of the county where the cemetery is situated, have a trustee appointed with authority to receive any and all moneys or property that may be donated for and on account of the cemetery and to invest, manage, and control the moneys or property under the direction of the court. However, the trustee shall not be authorized to receive any gift, except with the understanding that the principal sum is to be a permanent fund, and only the net proceeds therefrom shall be used in carrying out the purpose of the trust created, and all such funds shall be exempt from taxation.
2. Requisites of petition. The petition shall state the amount proposed to be placed in such trust fund, the manner of investment thereof, and the provisions made for the disposition of any surplus income not required for the care and upkeep of the property described in such petition.
3. Approval of court -- surplus fund. Such provisions shall be subject to the approval of the court and when so approved the trust fund and the trustee thereof shall, at all times, be subject to the orders and control of the court and such surplus arising from the trust fund shall not be used except for charitable, eleemosynary, or public purposes under the direction of the court. 4. Receipt -- cemetery record. Every such trustee shall execute and deliver to the donor a receipt showing the amount of money or other property received, and the use to be made of the net proceeds from the same, duly attested by the clerk of the court granting letters of trusteeship, and a copy thereof, signed by the trustee and so attested, shall be filed with and recorded by the clerk in a book to be known as the cemetery record, in which shall be recorded all reports and other papers, including orders made by the court relative to cemetery matters.
5. Investments. Any such trustee may receive and invest all moneys and property, so donated or bequeathed, and that portion of cemetery lot sales and permanent charges made against interment spaces which has been set aside in a perpetual care fund, in such authorized investments and in the manner prescribed in section 636.23.
6. Bond -- approval -- oath. Every such trustee before entering upon the discharge of the trustee's duties or at any time thereafter when required by the court shall give a bond in an amount as may be required by the court, approved by the clerk, and conditioned for the faithful discharge of the trustee's duties, and take and subscribe an oath the same in substance as the condition of the bond, which bond and oath must be filed with the clerk.
7. Clerk -- duty of. At the time of filing each bond and oath the clerk shall at once advise the court as to the amount of the principal fund in the hands of such trustee, the amount of the bond filed, and whether it is good and sufficient for the amount given.
8. Compensation -- costs. Such trustee shall serve without compensation, but may, out of the income received, pay all proper items of expense incurred in the performance of the trustee's duties, including cost of the bond, if any.
9. Annual report. Such trustee shall make a full report of the trustee's doings in the month of January following appointment and in January of each successive year. In each report the trustee shall apportion the net proceeds received from the sum total of the permanent funds assigned to the trustee in trust.
10. Removal -- vacancy filled. Any such trustee may be removed by the court at any time for cause, and in the event of removal or death, the court shall appoint a new trustee and require the new trustee's predecessor or the predecessor's personal representative to make a full accounting.
2005 Acts, ch 128. §50
NEW section
523I.603 Owners of interment rights.
1. An interment space in which exclusive rights of interment are conveyed is presumed to be the separate property of the person named as grantee in the certificate of interment rights or other instrument of conveyance.
2. Two or more owners of interment rights may designate a person to represent the interment space and file notice of the designation of a representative with the cemetery. If notice is not filed, the cemetery may inter or permit an interment in the interment space at the request or direction of a registered co-owner of the interment space.
2005 Acts, ch 128. §51
NEW section
523I.604 Lien against cemetery property.
1. A cemetery, by contract, may incur indebtedness as necessary to conduct its business and may secure the indebtedness by mortgage, deed of trust, or other lien against its property.
2. A mortgage, deed of trust, or other lien placed on dedicated cemetery property, or on cemetery property that is later dedicated with the consent of the holder of the lien, does not affect the dedication and is subject to the dedication. A sale on foreclosure of the lien is subject to the dedication of the property for cemetery purposes.
2005 Acts, ch 128. 652
NEW section
523I.605 Private care of graves.
This subchapter does not affect the right of a person who has an interest in an interment space, or who is a relative of a decedent interred in a cemetery, to beautify or maintain an interment space individually or at the person's own expense in accordance with reasonable rules established by the cemetery.
2005 Acts, ch 128. §53
NEW section
523I.701 Requirements for lawn crypts.
A lawn crypt shall not be installed unless all of the following apply:
1. The lawn crypt is constructed of concrete and reinforced steel or other comparable durable material.
2. The lawn crypt is installed on not less than six inches of rock, gravel, or other drainage material.
3. The lawn crypt provides a method to drain water out of the lawn crypt.
4. The lawn crypt is capable of withstanding the weight of the soil and sod above the top surface and the weight of machinery and equipment normally used in the maintenance of the cemetery.
5. Except as provided by section 523I.702, the lawn crypt is installed in multiple units of ten or more.
6. The lawn crypt shall be installed in compliance with any applicable law or rule adopted by the Iowa department of public health.
2005 Acts, ch 128. §54
NEW section
523I.702 Request to install lawn crypts in fewer than ten units.
1. A lawn crypt may be installed in fewer than ten units if it is installed in an interment space pursuant to a written request to the commissioner signed by the owner or owners of the interment space.
2. The written request shall be filed on a form prescribed by the commissioner and shall contain substantially all of the following information:
a. The owner's name and address.
b. The name of the cemetery and the owner of the cemetery.
c. The number of lawn crypt units to be installed.
d. A description of the interment spaces.
e. A statement that the lawn crypt meets the requirements of section 523I.701, including all of the following:
(1) A statement that the lawn crypt will be constructed of concrete and reinforced steel or other comparable durable materials.
(2) A statement that the lawn crypt will be installed on not less than six inches of rock, gravel, or other drainage material.
(3) A statement that the lawn crypt will provide a method to drain water out of the lawn crypt.
(4) A statement that the outside top surface of the lawn crypt at the time of installation will be capable of withstanding the weight of the soil and sod above the top surface and the weight of machinery and equipment normally used in the maintenance of the cemetery.
f. A statement that the space in which the lawn crypt is to be installed is located in a garden.
g. The date on which a representative of the cemetery signed the form.
2005 Acts, ch 128. §55
NEW section
PERPETUAL CARE CEMETERIES
- REQUIREMENTS
523I.801 Applicability and conversion by nonperpetual care cemeteries.
1. All cemeteries are designated as either "perpetual care cemeteries" or "nonperpetual care cemeteries" for the purposes of this chapter. A cemetery that represents that it is offering perpetual care on or after July 1, 2005, is subject to this subchapter.
2. A cemetery that operates a nonperpetual care cemetery may elect to become a perpetual care cemetery if at all times subsequent to the date of the election, the cemetery complies with the other requirements of this subchapter except section 523I.805.
2005 Acts, ch 128. §56
NEW section
1. A cemetery shall not advertise, represent, guarantee, promise, or contract to provide or offer perpetual care or use terms or phrases like permanent care, permanent maintenance, care forever, continuous care, eternal care, or everlasting care to imply that a certain level of care and financial security will be furnished or is guaranteed except in compliance with the provisions of this subchapter.
2. A cemetery or person advertising or selling interment rights shall not represent that the purchase of the interment rights is or will be a desirable speculative investment for resale purposes.
2005 Acts, ch 128. §57
Similar provision, see § 523I.308
NEW section
523I.803 Perpetual care registry.
1. A cemetery that operates a perpetual care cemetery shall maintain a registry of individuals who have purchased interment rights in the cemetery subject to the care fund requirements of this subchapter.
2. The registry shall include the amount deposited in trust for each interment rights agreement entered into on or after July 1, 1995.
2005 Acts, ch 128. §58
NEW section
523I.804 Use of gift for special care.
A trustee may accept and hold money or property transferred to the trustee in trust for the purpose of applying the principal or income of the money or property transferred for a purpose consistent with the purpose of a perpetual care cemetery, including the following:
1. Improvement or embellishment of any part of the cemetery.
2. Erection, renewal, repair, or preservation of a monument, fence, building, or other structure in the cemetery.
3. Planting or cultivation of plants in or around the cemetery.
4. Special care of or embellishment of an interment space, section, or building in the cemetery.
2005 Acts, ch 128. §59
NEW section
1. A cemetery owned or operated by a political subdivision of this state is not required to make a minimum initial deposit in a care fund. Any other cemetery commencing business in this state on or after July 1, 2005, shall not sell interment spaces unless the cemetery has a care fund of at least twenty-five thousand dollars in cash.
2. If an initial deposit is made by a cemetery to satisfy subsection 1, the initial twenty-five thousand dollar deposit may be withdrawn by the cemetery when the care fund balance reaches one hundred thousand dollars. An affidavit shall be filed with the commissioner providing prior notice of the intended withdrawal of the initial deposit and attesting that the money has not previously been withdrawn. Upon a showing by the cemetery that the initial deposit has not previously been withdrawn, the commissioner shall approve withdrawal of the money and the withdrawal shall take place within one year after the care fund balance reaches one hundred thousand dollars.
2005 Acts, ch 128. §60
NEW section
1. A perpetual care cemetery shall establish a care fund as an irrevocable trust to provide for the care of the cemetery, which shall provide for the appointment of a trustee, with perpetual succession.
2. The care fund shall be administered under the jurisdiction of the district court of the county where the cemetery is located. Notwithstanding chapter 633A, annual reports shall not be required unless specifically required by the district court. Reports shall be filed with the court when necessary to receive approval of appointments of trustees, trust agreements and amendments, changes in fees or expenses, and other matters within the court's jurisdiction.
A court having jurisdiction over a care fund shall have full jurisdiction to approve the appointment of trustees, the amount of surety bond required, if any, and investment of funds.
2005 Acts, ch 128. §61
NEW section
1. To continue to operate as a perpetual care cemetery, a cemetery shall set aside and deposit in the care fund an amount equal to or greater than fifty dollars or twenty percent of the gross selling price received by the cemetery for each sale of interment rights, whichever is more.
2. A cemetery may require a contribution to the care fund for perpetual care of a memorial or memorialization placed in the cemetery. A cemetery may establish a separate care fund for this purpose. The contributions shall be nonrefundable and shall not be withdrawn from the trust fund once deposited. The amount charged shall be uniformly charged on every installation of a memorial, based on the height and width of the memorial or the size of the ground surface area used for the memorial. A fee for special care of a memorial may be collected if the terms of the special care items and arrangements are clearly specified in the interment rights agreement.
Except as otherwise provided in an interment rights agreement, a cemetery is not liable for repair or maintenance of memorials or vandalism. A cemetery may use income from a care fund to repair or replace memorials or interment spaces damaged by vandalism or acts of God.
3. Moneys shall be deposited in the care fund no later than the fifteenth day after the close of the month when the cemetery receives the final payment from a purchaser of interment rights.
2005 Acts, ch 128. §62
NEW section
An audit fee shall be submitted with the cemetery's annual report in an amount equal to five dollars for each certificate of interment rights issued during the fiscal year covered by the report. The cemetery may charge the audit fee directly to the purchaser of the interment rights.
2005 Acts, ch 128. §63
NEW section
523I.809 Trust agreement provisions.
1. A trust agreement shall provide for the appointment of at least one trustee, with perpetual succession, in case the cemetery is dissolved or ceases to be responsible for the cemetery's care.
2. A cemetery and the trustee or trustees of the care fund may, by agreement, amend the instrument that established the fund to include any provision that is necessary to comply with the requirements of this chapter.
3. A cemetery is responsible for the deposit of all moneys required to be placed in a care fund.
4. The commissioner may require the amending of a trust agreement that is not in accord with the provisions of this chapter.
2005 Acts, ch 128. §64
NEW section
1. A trustee of a care fund shall use the judgment and care under the circumstances then prevailing that persons of prudence, discretion, and intelligence exercise in the management of their own affairs, not in regard to speculation but in regard to the permanent disposition of their funds, considering the probable income as well as the probable safety of their capital. The trustee of a care fund has a fiduciary duty to make reasonable investment decisions and to properly oversee and manage the funds entrusted to the care fund.
a. A financial institution may serve as a trustee if granted those powers under the laws of this state or of the United States. A financial institution acting as a trustee of a care fund under this chapter shall invest the funds in accordance with applicable law.
b. A financial institution acting as a trustee of a care fund under this chapter has a fiduciary duty to make reasonable investment decisions and to properly oversee and manage the funds entrusted to the financial institution. The commissioner may take enforcement action against a financial institution in its capacity as trustee for a breach of fiduciary duty under this chapter.
c. Care fund moneys may be deposited pursuant to a master trust agreement, if each care fund is treated as a separate beneficiary of the trust and each care fund is separable. The master trust shall maintain a separate accounting of principal and income for each care fund. Moneys deposited under a master trust agreement may be commingled by the financial institution for investment purposes.
d. Subject to a master trust agreement, the cemetery may appoint an independent investment advisor to advise the financial institution about investment of the care fund.
e. Subject to an agreement between the cemetery and the financial institution, the financial institution may receive a reasonable fee from the care fund for services rendered as trustee.
f. If the amount of a care fund exceeds two hundred thousand dollars, the cemetery or any officer, director, agent, employee, or affiliate of the cemetery shall not serve as trustee unless the cemetery is a cemetery owned or operated by a governmental subdivision of this state. A financial institution holding care funds shall not do any of the following:
(1) Be owned, under the control of, or affiliated with the cemetery.
(2) Use any funds required to be held in trust under this chapter to purchase an interest in a contract or agreement to which the cemetery is a party.
(3) Otherwise invest care funds, directly or indirectly, in the cemetery's business operations.
2. All moneys required to be deposited in the care fund shall be deposited in the name of the trustee, as trustee, under the terms of a trust agreement and the trustee may invest, reinvest, exchange, retain, sell, and otherwise manage the care fund trust for the benefit and protection of the cemetery.
3. This section does not prohibit a cemetery from moving care funds from one financial institution to another.
4. A care fund may receive and hold as part of the care fund or as an incident to the care fund any property contributed to the care fund.
5. A contribution to a care fund is considered to be for charitable purposes if the care financed by the care fund is for the following purposes:
a. The discharge of a duty due from the cemetery to persons interred and to be interred in the cemetery.
b. The benefit and protection of the public by preserving and keeping the cemetery in a dignified condition so that the cemetery does not become a nuisance or a place of disorder, reproach, and desolation in the community in which the cemetery is located.
6. A contribution to a care fund is not invalid because of the following:
a. Indefiniteness or uncertainty as to the person designated as a beneficiary in the instrument establishing the care fund.
b. A violation of the law against perpetuities or the law against the suspension of the power of alienation of title to or use of property.
7. A care fund shall pay the fund's operation costs and any annual audit fees. The principal of a care fund is intended to remain available perpetually as a funding source for care of the cemetery. The principal of a care fund shall not be reduced voluntarily and shall remain inviolable, except as provided in this section. The trustee or trustees of a care fund shall maintain the principal of the care fund separate from all operating funds of the cemetery.
8. In establishing a care fund, the cemetery may adopt plans for the care of the cemetery and installed memorials and memorialization.
9. A cemetery may, by resolution adopted by a vote of at least two-thirds of the members of its board at any authorized meeting of the board, authorize the withdrawal and use of not more than twenty percent of the principal of the care fund to acquire additional land for cemetery purposes, to repair a mausoleum or other building or structure intended for cemetery purposes, or to build, improve, or repair roads and walkways in the cemetery. The resolution shall establish a reasonable repayment schedule, not to exceed five years, and provide for interest in an amount comparable to the care fund's current rate of return on its investments. However, the care fund shall not be diminished below an amount equal to the greater of twenty-five thousand dollars or five thousand dollars per acre of land in the cemetery. The resolution, and either a bond or proof of insurance to guarantee replenishment of the care fund, shall be filed with the commissioner thirty days prior to the withdrawal of funds.
2005 Acts, ch 128. §65
NEW section
523I.811 Use of distributions from care fund.
1. Care fund distributions may be used in any manner determined to be in the best interests of the cemetery if authorized by a resolution, bylaw, or other action or instrument establishing the care fund, including but not limited to the general care of memorials, memorialization, and any of the following:
a. Cutting and trimming lawns, shrubs, and trees at reasonable intervals.
b. Maintaining drains, water lines, roads, buildings, fences, and other structures.
c. Maintaining machinery, tools, and equipment.
d. Compensating maintenance employees, paying insurance premiums, and making payments to employees' pension and benefit plans.
e. Paying overhead expenses incidental to such purposes.
f. Paying expenses necessary to maintain ownership, transfer, and interment records of the cemetery.
2. The commissioner may, by rule, establish terms and conditions under which a cemetery may withdraw capital gains from the care fund.
2005 Acts, ch 128. §66
NEW section
523I.812 Suit by commissioner.
1. If the person or persons in control of a cemetery do not care for and maintain the cemetery, the district court of the county in which the cemetery is located may do the following:
a. By injunction compel the cemetery to expend the net income of the care fund as required by this chapter.
b. Appoint a receiver to take charge of the care fund and expend the net income of the care fund as required by this chapter.
c. Grant relief on a petition for relief filed pursuant to this section by the commissioner.
2. Inadequate care and maintenance of a cemetery includes but is not limited to the following:
a. Failure to adequately mow grass.
b. Failure to adequately edge and trim bushes, trees, and memorials.
c. Failure to keep walkways and sidewalks free of obstructions.
d. Failure to adequately maintain the cemetery's equipment and fixtures.
This subsection is not intended to prevent the establishment of a cemetery as a nature park or preserve.
2005 Acts, ch 128. §67
NEW section
523I.813 Annual report by perpetual care cemeteries.
1. A perpetual care cemetery shall file a written report at the end of each fiscal year of the cemetery that includes all of the following:
a. The name and address of the cemetery.
b. The name and address of the corporation that owns the cemetery, if any.
c. A description of any common business enterprise or parent company that owns the cemetery, if any.
d. The name and address of any owner, officer, or other official of the cemetery, including, when relevant, the chief executive officer and the members of the board of directors.
e. The name and address of any trustee holding trust funds for the cemetery, including the name and location of the applicable trust account.
f. An affidavit that the cemetery is in compliance with this chapter.
g. Copies of all sales agreement forms used by the cemetery.
h. The amount of the principal of the cemetery's care funds or maintenance funds, if any, at the end of the fiscal year.
2. The report shall be filed with the commissioner within four months following the end of the cemetery's fiscal year in the form required by the commissioner.
2005 Acts, ch 128. §68
NEW section
523I.814 Unified annual reports.
The commissioner shall permit the filing of a unified report in the event of commonly owned or affiliated cemeteries if each cemetery is separately identified and separate records are maintained for each cemetery.
2005 Acts, ch 128. §69
NEW section
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