Effective: October 20, 1999
Latest Legislation: House Bill 18 - 123rd General Assembly
(A) An application by a surviving spouse for disinterment under section 517.23 of the Revised Code shall be in writing and shall state that the applicant is the surviving spouse of the decedent, that the applicant is eighteen years of age or older and of sound mind, the disease of which the decedent died, and the place at which the remains shall be reinterred. The application shall be subscribed and verified by oath.
(B)(1) A person who is eighteen years of age or older and of sound mind and who is not the surviving spouse of the decedent involved may obtain a court order under this division for the disinterment of the remains of the decedent. Any person who is eighteen years of age or older and of sound mind, including, but not limited to, the person who assumed financial responsibility for the funeral and burial expenses of the decedent, and who wishes to obtain a court order for the disinterment of the remains of the decedent may file an application in the probate court of the county in which the decedent is buried requesting the court to issue an order for the disinterment of the remains of the decedent. The application shall be in writing, subscribed and verified by oath, and include all of the following:
(a) If applicable, a statement that the applicant assumed financial responsibility for the funeral and burial expenses of the decedent;
(b) If division (B)(1)(a) of this section is inapplicable relative to the applicant, a statement that the applicant did not assume financial responsibility for the funeral and burial expenses of the decedent;
(c) A statement that the applicant is eighteen years of age or older and of sound mind;
(d) The relationship of the applicant to the decedent;
(e) A statement of the place at which the remains will be reinterred;
(f) The name, the relationship to the decedent, and the address of the decedent's surviving spouse, of all persons who would have been entitled to inherit from the decedent under Chapter 2105. of the Revised Code if the decedent had died intestate, and, if the decedent had a will, of all legatees and devisees named in the decedent's will.
(2)(a) Subject to division (B)(2)(b) of this section, upon the filing of an application for an order for disinterment of remains under division (B) of this section, the applicant promptly shall give notice as described in this division by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the decedent's surviving spouse; to all persons who would have been entitled to inherit from the decedent under Chapter 2105. of the Revised Code if the decedent had died intestate; if the decedent had a will, to all legatees and devisees named in the decedent's will; and to the board of township trustees, the trustees or directors of a cemetery association, or the other officers having control and management of the cemetery in which the remains of the decedent are interred or to the officer of a municipal corporation who has control and management of a municipal cemetery in which the remains of the decedent are interred. The notice shall indicate that an application for disinterment of the remains of the decedent has been filed.
(b) A person entitled to be given the notice described in division (B)(2)(a) of this section may waive the right to receive the notice by filing a written waiver of that right in the probate court.
(c) The fact that the notice required by division (B)(2)(a) of this section has been given, subject to division (B)(2)(d) of this section, to all persons described in division (B)(2)(a) of this section who have not waived their right to receive the notice and, if applicable, the fact that certain persons described in that division have waived their right to receive the notice in accordance with division (B)(2)(b) of this section shall be evidenced by an affidavit of the applicant for the order for disinterment, and the applicant shall file the affidavit in the probate court.
(d) An applicant for an order for disinterment is not required to give a notice pursuant to division (B)(2)(a) of this section to persons whose names or places of residence are unknown and cannot with reasonable diligence be ascertained, and the applicant shall file an affidavit in the probate court specifying any persons who were not given notice pursuant to division (B)(2)(a) of this section and the reason for not giving notice to those persons.
(3)(a) Except as otherwise provided in division (B)(3)(b) of this section, upon the filing of an application for disinterment of remains and the giving of the required notice under division (B)(2) of this section, the probate court promptly shall conduct a hearing to determine whether to issue an order for disinterment of the remains of the decedent. Except as otherwise provided in division (B)(3)(a) of this section, at the hearing, the court, in its discretion, may issue an order for disinterment of the decedent's remains if good cause for disinterment is shown. If a person who is an interested party and who is eighteen years of age or older and of sound mind establishes by a preponderance of the evidence at the hearing that the issuance of an order for disinterment of the decedent's remains under division (B)(3) of this section would be against the decedent's religious beliefs or ascertainable desires, the court shall not issue the requested order unless the court finds a compelling reason to issue it. If the court is not so prohibited from issuing the requested order and exercises its discretion to issue the requested order for disinterment of the decedent's remains in accordance with division (B)(3) of this section, the court promptly shall deliver the order to the applicant. An order of the court for disinterment of the decedent's remains shall specify that the board of township trustees, the trustees or board of the cemetery association, or other officers having control and management of the cemetery or the officer of a municipal corporation who has control and management of the municipal cemetery shall have a period of at least thirty days from the receipt of the order to perform the ordered disinterment.
(b) The court is not required to conduct a hearing under division (B)(3)(a) of this section if each person entitled to be given the notice described in division (B)(2)(a) of this section has waived that right by filing a written waiver of the right to receive the notice in the probate court.