Cemetery Planning Ahead
Buying a cemetery plot ahead of time lets you choose the place without a deadline. It also leaves your family with fewer decisions later. Before you buy, it helps to know exactly what you’re buying and what will still be needed.
Decide what kind of space you want, visit the cemetery, read its rules, and ask what the purchase includes. The space is usually only part of the cost. Opening and closing, a vault, and a marker are often paid for separately, sometimes years later.
What are you planning?
- A burial space
- A single grave, or companion or family plots next to each other.
- A niche or columbarium
- A space for an urn. See niches and columbariums.
- A crypt or mausoleum space
- Above-ground entombment, where a cemetery offers it.
- A scattering garden or other option
- Some cemeteries have one. See scattering ashes in Utah.
Location and family needs
Think about who will visit and how often, whether family members want to be buried nearby, faith or cultural requirements, and access for people who use a wheelchair or walker. City cemeteries often charge more to non-residents, so where you live when the plot is used can matter. See choosing a cemetery.
Ask about the cemetery’s rules
Every cemetery sets its own rules. Ask to see them in writing before you buy:
- Marker and headstone size and type
- Whether an outer burial container is required
- Flowers and decorations
- Urns allowed in niches or graves
- Visiting hours and ceremonies
- How the grounds are maintained
What does the purchase include?
Often bought now
Often paid at the time of burial
If the cemetery requires one
Plus setting or permit fees
In Utah, buying a lot in a city cemetery or cemetery district (for lots sold after April 29, 1985) gives you the right to be buried there, not ownership of the land (Utah Code 8-5-7). Private cemeteries must keep an endowment care fund for upkeep; city, church, and fraternal cemeteries are exempt (Utah Code Title 8, Chapter 4). For prices, see cemetery property, how cemetery costs work, and opening, closing, and interment.
Document the arrangement
Keep the deed or certificate of burial rights, the contract, receipts, the cemetery’s rules, the plot location, and a contact name together with your important papers. Tell your family where they are.
If your plans change: can you sell a burial plot?
It depends on the cemetery, and each one sets its own rules. Before you buy, ask whether you can transfer or sell the space later, whether the cemetery will buy it back, and whether a transfer fee applies. Utah law also lets cities and cemetery districts reclaim a lot that has gone unused for 60 years, after giving notice (Utah Code 8-5-1), so keep your contact details current with the cemetery.
“What exactly are we purchasing, what rules apply, and what costs or services will still be separate later?”
Common questions
How do I buy a cemetery plot?
Can you sell a burial plot?
What does a cemetery plot cost?
Ready to see how these choices apply to your situation?
Your Wayfinder Plan can help organize the options you’re considering and give you a clearer picture of what to ask and compare.
Build My Wayfinder Plan- Right of burial for city and cemetery district lots: Utah Code 8-5-7. Reclaiming unused lots: Utah Code 8-5-1. Endowment care: Utah Code Title 8, Chapter 4. All at le.utah.gov, Title 8.
- City cemetery resident and non-resident fees: see the fee schedules cited on cemetery property.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Cemetery rules vary.