Forms of final disposition continued: Purchasing a burial plot

Things you should know before you go:

Forms of final disposition continued: Purchasing a burial plot
By Andrew Hodges
June 2007

Continuing our look at casket burial, this article is a how to guide in purchasing a cemetery plot. Because every cemetery is slightly different in terms of bylaws and prices, this article will focus on how to purchase cemetery property at the St. Marys Cemetery.

The first thing to do is set up an appointment with the cemetery caretaker (519-284-2859) to meet at the cemetery and look at location options. Sections that have available space are mapped out with yellow stakes one row at a time. Depending on what is available in that row, more than one plot may be purchased at a time.

The St. Marys Cemetery is run by the town and so the purchase price and fees are different for those who are residents of the town (tax payers) and those from outside of the town.

Cost of a single adult plot for casket burial at St. Marys Cemetery:

For town resident                      For non town resident:

$742 (700 + GST)                        $954 (900 + GST)

The price includes the care and maintenance fee, which is the general upkeep of the grounds: grass cutting and maintaining the level of the ground.

To put things into perspective and make everyone feel better about living in St. Marys (and in this case, dying in St. Marys) the current purchase price for an adult plot in Mount Pleasant Cemetery at Yonge St. and Mount Pleasant Ave. in Toronto (one of the city's largest cemeteries) is $7,499.50 (GST included).

The purchase price can be paid outright at the cemetery. The purchaser will later receive a deed to the cemetery property proving ownership and a copy of the cemetery bylaws.

The grave opening and closing fee at the time of need is not included in the purchase price at St. Marys Cemetery. That fee will depend on when the burial takes place. The fee includes staff, equipment: backhoe, truck, grave dressing (support boards and lowering device), registration fee and GST.  Currently, an adult burial between April 15 and December 1, on weekdays, costs $646 for a town taxpayer and $725.50 for a non town taxpayer. A burial on the weekend or legal holiday adds $300 as overtime for cemetery staff; for a town taxpayer it would total $954, and $1043.50 for a non-town taxpayer.

Winter burials do take place in the St. Marys Cemetery, but carry an extra $125 fee to cover possible snow removal and/or additional repair to the grounds if there is no snow but instead muddy conditions, which are commonly experienced in March and the beginning of April. Burials are classified as winter burials if they occur between December 1 and April 15.    

At the time of burial the funeral home will submit, along with the burial permit,  an application for burial that includes the deceased's full name, address, age, place of birth, place of death, date of death, date required for committal service, lot number, grave number and section, lot owner and name of clergy.

A few final notes: cemetery fees do go up over time, so purchasing a plot  ahead of the time of need does save money. Casket vaults (outer containers for caskets made of concrete) are not required in the St. Marys Cemetery, however, they are recommended as they greatly help in keeping the cemetery grounds level, allowing for better accessibility. There are also required specifications for monuments in St. Marys Cemetery that include requirements for cement foundations and sizes of grave markers. But that is a topic for a later article.