Massachusetts Law About Burial, Cremation and Funerals
Massachusetts Laws
- MGL c.114: Cemeteries and Burials. The state's primary cemetery, burial and cremation law.
- MGL c.7, s.38A: Skeletal remains; preservation; excavation; analysis. Handling possible American Indian remains
- MGL c.9, s.26A: State archeologist; duties; reservation of lands from sale; cooperation of governmental agencies
- MGL c.9, s.27C: Requirements to notify state archeologist if remains are found during public construction project.
- MGL c.38, § 6: Unmarked human skeletal remains; notice to office of chief medical examiner; inquiry; notification of commission on Indian affairs
- MGL c.46, § 9: Death certificates; issuance; contents; declaration of death by nurse, nurse practitioner or physician's assistant. Describes the procedure for issuance of death certificates.
- MGL c.114, s.43M: Cremation Remains. Amended in 2008 to authorize funeral establishments to dispose of cremated remains that have not been claimed within 12 months of cremation. The funeral establishment must keep permanent records.
- MGL c.190B, s.3-701 Prior to appointment, a person named executor in a will may carry out written instructions of the decedent relating to the decedent's body, funeral and burial arrangements. Effective March 31, 2012
- MGL. c. 272 s. 42: Disturbance of Funerals: Whoever wilfully interrupts or by fast driving or otherwise in any way disturbs a funeral assembly or procession shall be punished as provided in section forty.
- MGL c. 272 s.40: Disturbance of Schools or Assemblies: Penalty for disturbing an assembly (funeral).
Massachusetts Regulations
- 239 CMR: Rules and Regulations Governing Funeral Directors and Embalmers
- 505 CMR 1: Disclosure of Autopsy Reports
- 505 CMR 2: Release of Unclaimed or Unidentified Bodies
- 505 CMR 4: Cremation Fees
Federal Regulations
- 16 CFR 453: Funeral Industry Practices. The "funeral rule".
- 40 CFR 229.1: Burial at Sea
Other Web Sources
In General
Burial and Cremation, Mass. Dept. of Public Health, Division of Community Sanitation. Includes detailed information about requirements for burial and cremation, including transportation, preparation of the body and more.
Consumer's Guide to Planning a Funeral, Board of Registration of Embalmers and Funeral Directors. Provides consumer guidelines for Purchasing Funeral Arrangements and Pre-Paid ("Pre-Need") Funeral Arrangements.
Frequently Asked Questions About Inquests, Boston Herald. Attribution is unclear, but we believe this was written by the District Court Dept. Explains how the inquest process works.
Funerals: A Consumer Guide, Federal Trade Commission. Detailed guide on issues confronting consumers. Includes funeral planning, costs, a form to use in comparing costs, and consumer rights under the "funeral rule."
Veterans' Guide to Benefits: Burial Benefits, Mass. Secretary of State. Explains eligibility for burial in state and federal veterans' cemeteries and the application procedure.
What to Do When Human Burials are Accidentally Uncovered: Know How #4, Mass. Historical Commission. What you should do if you uncover bones, and the role of the state archaeologist.
Burial at Sea
Burial at Sea in New England, Environmental Protection Agency. Contains guidance in how to conduct a burial at sea and reporting requirements.
A Final Resting Place at Sea: As Cremations Rise, Ocean Burials Also Gain, Boston Globe, January 20, 2011. Explains the increasing number of burials at sea, and some options for those considering it.
Green Burial
Conservationists Push for "Green Burial," Boston Globe, August 26, 2006. Describes one effort to create a space for the "earth-friendly burial of ashes or of unembalmed bodies in biodegradable boxes or in shrouds."
Going Green, Boston Globe, March 1, 2009. In a profile of one company making green caskets, this article describes green burial options at some length.
Print Sources
Massachusetts Environmental Law, MCLE, loose-leaf. Chapter 6: Cemetery Laws and Burial Laws.
Selected Case Law
Brown v. Bayview Crematory, LLC, 79 Mass. App. Ct. 337 (2011). Jury could find that "plaintiffs suffered injury due to mental distress occasioned by the defendant's handling of the remains of the plaintiffs' mother...even where the jury found that the plaintiffs did not suffer sufficient physical manifestation or objective symptoms to recover for negligently inflicted emotional distress."
LeBlanc v. Commonwealth, 457 Mass. 94 (2010). Where there was understandable confusion about whether a body released to parents was the correct body, but in fact there was no error, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner had no obligation to tell the family that the autopsy report had been corrected and that the body was in fact that of their son.
Silva v. Attleboro, 454 Mass. 165 (2009) A Superior Court judge did not err in holding that monetary charges imposed by certain municipalities for the issuance of burial permits were valid regulatory fees rather than improper taxes, where the charges were reasonably proportional to the amounts expended by the local boards of health in administering the permit process, and were charged in exchange for a particular governmental service benefiting the party paying the charge, that is, a well-regulated industry for the disposal of human remains.