Title 54.1, Professions and Occupations

A. No person shall participate as a seller in more than four consummated resale transactions in any calendar year except as authorized by this section or § 54.1-2312.2. B. Unless exempted by subsection A, no resale transaction shall be valid unless: 1. The resale is at-need; 2. T…

A. In addition to the provisions of § 54.1-2312.1, a church or religious organization may proceed with a resale transaction of an interment right if (i) the church or religious organization is exempt from income tax under Title 58.1 or from taxation pursuant to § 501(c)(3) of the…

A. The Cemetery Board shall consist of seven members to be appointed by the Governor as follows: four cemetery operators who have operated a cemetery in the Commonwealth for at least five consecutive years immediately prior to appointment, no more than two of whom shall be affili…

No licensee or any agent of the licensee shall divert or misuse any funds held in trust or otherwise held by him for another. If preneed or perpetual care funds are held in trust and the Board or its agents have reason to believe that (i) the licensee is not able to adequately pr…

In addition to the applicable provisions of §§ 54.1-201 and 54.1-202, the Board may refuse to license or register any applicant, suspend a license or registration for a stated period or indefinitely, revoke any license or registration, censure or reprimand any person licensed or …

The following acts shall be prohibited: 1. Employment directly or indirectly of any sales representative, agent, employee or other person, on a part-time or full-time basis, or on a commission, for the purpose of calling upon individuals or institutions by whose influence dead hu…

It shall be unlawful to sell or offer for sale in the Commonwealth any grave or entombment right in a cemetery and, in connection therewith, to represent to the public in any manner, express or implied, that the entire cemetery or any grave or entombment right therein will be per…

A. The trustee of the perpetual care trust fund shall be appointed by the person owning, operating, or developing a cemetery company. If the trustee is other than a Virginia trust company or trust subsidiary or a federally insured bank or savings institution doing business in the…

Trustees appointed pursuant to this chapter shall be governed in their investment of trust funds by § 2.2-4519 and §§ 64.2-1502 through 64.2-1506, except as otherwise provided in this chapter.

Each cemetery company shall deposit a minimum of ten percent of the receipts from the sale of graves and above-ground crypts and niches, excluding below-ground burial vaults, in cash in the perpetual care trust fund within thirty days after the close of the month in which such re…

If ten percent of the sales price of a grave or above-ground crypt or niche has been deposited in a perpetual care trust fund, no deposit shall be required on subsequent sales of the same grave, crypt or niche.

Once the cemetery company has deposited in the perpetual care trust fund a sum equal to twice the amount of the original deposit, exclusive of the original deposit, the trustee shall allow the cemetery company to recover its original deposit by withholding the money that would ot…

A. The income from the perpetual care trust fund shall be used solely and exclusively for the general care, maintenance, administration, and embellishment of the cemetery. Unless prior approval has been obtained from the Board or a court of competent jurisdiction, the principal o…

The cemetery company shall file with the Board detailed accounts of all transactions, receipts and accounts receivable subject to the ten percent trust requirement and of all expenditures of income from the perpetual care trust fund at such times as required by the Board.

A. Within four months after the close of its fiscal year, the cemetery company shall report the following information to the Board, on forms prescribed by the Board: 1. The total amount of principal in the perpetual care trust fund; 2. The securities in which the perpetual care t…

A. Each cemetery company shall deposit into a trust fund at least forty percent of the receipts from the sale of property or services purchased pursuant to a preneed burial contract, when the delivery thereof will be delayed more than 120 days from the initial payment on said con…

A. The trustee of the preneed trust fund shall be appointed by the person owning, operating, or developing a cemetery company. If the trustee is other than a Virginia trust company or trust subsidiary or a federally insured bank or savings institution doing business in the Common…

A. Every cemetery company licensed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall furnish a written general price list and a written itemized statement of charges in connection with burial services provided by the cemetery company. Individuals inquiring in person about burial a…

A. It shall be unlawful for any person doing business within the Commonwealth to make, either directly or indirectly by any means, a preneed burial contract unless the contract: 1. Is made on forms prescribed by the Board and is written in clear, understandable language and print…

Specific funds deposited in the trust account shall be identified in the records of the seller by the contract number and by the name of the buyer. The trustee may commingle the deposits in any preneed trust account for the purposes of the management thereof and the investment of…

Specific funds shall remain intact until the property is delivered or services performed as specified in the contract. The net income from the preneed trust account, after payment of any appropriate trustee fees, commissions, and costs, shall remain in the account and be reinvest…

A. Upon performance of the preneed burial contract, the seller shall certify to the trustee by affidavit the amount of specific funds in the trust, identified to the contract performed, which the trustee shall pay to the seller. The seller may in its records itemize the property …

Each seller of a preneed burial contract shall file with the Board at such time as the Board may prescribe, detailed accounts of all contracts and transactions regarding preneed burial contracts.

A. The cemetery company shall report the following information to the Board within four months following the cemetery company's fiscal year, on forms prescribed by the Board: 1. The total amount of principal in the preneed trust account; 2. The securities in which the preneed tru…

Nothing in this chapter shall be deemed to prohibit the sale within the preneed burial contract of property or services to be delivered within 120 days after the receipt of the initial payment on account of such sale. Contracts may specify separately the total consideration paid …

If, after a written request, the seller fails to perform its contractual duties, the purchaser, executor or administrator of the estate, or heirs, or assigns or duly authorized representative of the purchaser shall be entitled to maintain a proper legal or equitable action in any…

The trustee may rely upon all certifications and affidavits made pursuant to or required by the provisions of this chapter and shall not be liable to any person for such reasonable reliance.

The seller may, upon notification in writing to the trustee, and upon such other terms and conditions as the agreement between them may specify, transfer its account funds to another trustee qualified under the provisions of this chapter. The trustee may, upon notification in wri…

No person subject to the provisions of this chapter shall use the name of the trustee in any advertisement or other public solicitation without written permission of the trustee.

Within four years after the date of the first sale, a cemetery company or other seller of mausoleums and garden crypts shall be required to start construction or development of that undeveloped ground or section of a mausoleum or garden crypt in which sales, contracts for sales, …

Any provision of any contract which purports to waive any provision of this chapter shall be void.

Any money, personal property or real property paid, delivered or conveyed subject to § 54.1-2325 shall be exempt from levy, garnishment or distress.

Any person who violates any of the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to the sanctions provided in Chapter 1 (§ 54.1-100 et seq.) and Chapter 2 (§ 54.1-200 et seq.) and in §§ 54.1-2314, 54.1-2317, and 54.1-2326. Any person who is convicted of willfully violating any of t…