(l-2) A court with jurisdiction over probate
been issued against or with respect to the person under one of those provisions. (l-1) A person regulated under Chapter 651, Occupations Code, who knowingly allows a person described by Subsection (1) to control the disposition of the decedent’s remains in violation of that subsection commits a prohibited practice under Section 651.460, Occupations Code, and the Texas Funeral Service Commission may take disciplinary action or assess an administrative penalty against the regulated person under that chapter. Sec. 711.004. Removal of Remains (a) Remains interred in a cemetery may be removed from a plot in the cemetery with the written consent of the cemetery organization operating the cemetery and the written consent of the current plot owner or owners and the following persons, in the priority listed: (1) The person designated in a written instrument signed by the decedent, as described by Section 711.002(a)(1); (2) The decedent’s surviving spouse; (3) Any one of the decedent’s surviving adult children; (4) Either one of the decedent’s surviving parents; (5) Any one of the decedent’s surviving adult siblings; (6) Any one of the duly qualified executors or administrators of the decedent’s estate; or (7) Any adult person in the next degree of kinship in the order named by law to inherit the estate of the decedent. (b) A person listed in Subsection (a) may consent to the removal only if there is no person in a priority listed before that person. (c) If the consent required by Subsection (a) cannot be obtained, the remains may be removed by permission of a county court of the county in which the cemetery is located. Before the date of application to the court for permission to remove remains under this subsection, notice must be given to: (1) The cemetery organization operating the cemetery in which the remains are interred or if the cemetery organization cannot be located or does not exist, the Texas Historical Commission; (2) Each person whose consent is required for removal of the remains under Subsection (a); and (3) Any other person or entity that the court subsequently requires to be served. (d) For the purposes of Subsection (c) and except as provided by this subsection or Subsection (d-1) or (k), personal notice must be given not later than the 11th day before the date of application to the court for permission to remove the remains, or notice by certified or registered mail must be given not later than the 16th day before the date of application. In an emergency circumstance described by Subsection (l) that necessitates immediate removal of remains from a plot, the court shall hear an application for permission to remove remains under Subsection (c) not later than the first business day after the application is made. In an emergency circumstance described by this subsection, personal notice may be given on the date the application is made. (d-1)If the court subsequently requires an additional person or entity to be served under Subsection (c) (3), that additional service must be performed not later than the 11th day after the date of the judge’s order. Service may not be required for any court
proceedings shall expedite the proceedings to resolve any dispute over the right to control the disposition of a decedent’s remains among the persons listed in Subsection (a) if the dispute involves the control of the disposition of the remains by a prohibited person described by Subsection (1).
appointed representative or other court appointed official. (e) Subsections (a)-(d) and (k) do not apply to the removal of remains: (1) From one plot to another plot in the same cemetery, if the cemetery: (A) Is a family, fraternal, or community cemetery that is not larger than 10 acres; (D) Is owned or operated by an unincorporated association of plot owners not operated for profit; (E) Is owned or operated by a church, a religious society or denomination, or an entity solely administering the temporalities of a church or religious society or denomination; or (B) Is a public cemetery owned by this state, a county, or a municipality; (2) By the cemetery organization from a plot for which the purchase price is past due and unpaid, to another suitable place; (3) On the order of a court or person who conducts inquests; or (4) From a plot in a cemetery owned and operated by the Veterans’ Land Board. (f) Except as is authorized for a justice of the peace acting as coroner or medical examiner under Chapter 49, Code of Criminal Procedure, remains may not be removed from a cemetery except on the written order of the state registrar or the state registrar’s designee. The cemetery organization shall keep a duplicate copy of the order as part of its records. The Texas Funeral Service Commission may adopt rules to implement this subsection. (f-1) For unmarked graves contained within an abandoned, unknown, or unverified cemetery, a justice of the peace acting as coroner or medical examiner under Chapter 49, Code of Criminal Procedure, or a person described by Section 711.0105(a) may investigate or remove remains without written order of the state registrar or the state registrar’s designee. (g) A person who removes remains from a cemetery shall keep a record of the removal that includes: (1) The date the remains are removed; (2) The name and age at death of the decedent if those facts can be conveniently obtained; (3) The place to which the remains are removed; and (4) The cemetery and plot from which the remains are removed. (h) If the remains are not reinterred, the person who removes the remains shall: (1) Make and keep a record of the disposition of the remains; and
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Book Code: FTX1626
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