9069.10.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) The Legislature authorizes public cemetery districts to sell interment rights in its cemeteries, columbariums, and mausoleums, subject to the limitations of this part.

(b) Interment rights, a form of property, shall not be subject to the laws of intestacy; instead, the right to use or control the rights of interment purchased from a public cemetery district shall be governed by this chapter.

(c) In enacting this chapter, it is the intent of the Legislature that it shall be construed to complement Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 7100) of Part 1 of Division 7, which governs the right to control the disposition of remains, by establishing the succession of interment rights that are purchased from public cemetery districts.

(d) This chapter shall establish who has the right to use or control the use of interment rights purchased from a public cemetery district.

9069.12.

 (a) As used in this chapter, “interment rights” or “rights” means the right to use or control the use of a plot, niche, or other space for the interment of human remains.

(b) The right of use or control of a plot shall include both of the following:

(1) The right to make multiple interments in a single plot, in conformance with Section 8113.5 and all applicable regulations of the district.

(2) The right to control the placement and removal of memorial markers in conformance with all applicable regulations of the district.

(3) The right of use or control of a plot shall not include the right to remove from a plot, niche, or space any remains that were previously, and properly, interred in the plot, niche, or space.

(c) “Owner” means the person who holds interment rights in connection with a plot, niche, or other space for the interment of human remains.

9069.14.

 Interment rights are presumed to be the sole property of the purchaser, subject to any written declaration to the contrary that is signed by the purchaser and deposited with the district. The purchaser may designate, in a signed writing deposited with the district, any other person qualified by this part as owner of these rights.

9069.16.

 If the owner of interment rights dies without designating a successive owner, the rights shall transfer as follows, in the following order of priority:

(a) To the spouse of the owner, if any, at the time of the owner’s death.

(b) To the sole surviving competent adult child of the owner, or if there is more than one competent adult child of the owner, the majority of the surviving competent adult children. However, less than the majority of the surviving competent adult children shall be vested with the rights and duties of this section if they have used reasonable efforts to notify all other surviving competent adult children of their instructions and are not aware of any opposition to those instructions by the majority of all surviving competent adult children.

(c) To the surviving competent parent or parents of the owner. If one surviving competent parent is absent, the remaining competent parent shall be vested with the rights and duties of this section after reasonable efforts have been unsuccessful in locating the absent surviving competent parent.

(d) To the sole surviving competent adult sibling of the owner, or if there is more than one surviving competent adult sibling, then to the majority of the surviving competent adult siblings. However, less than the majority of competent adult siblings of the owner shall be vested with the rights and duties of this section if they have used reasonable efforts to notify all other surviving competent adult siblings of their instructions and are not aware of any opposition to those instructions by the majority of all surviving competent adult siblings.

(e) To the surviving competent adult person or persons respectively in the next degrees of kinship to the owner, or if there is more than one surviving competent adult person of the same degree of kinship, the majority of those persons. However, less than the majority of surviving competent adult persons of the same degree of kinship shall be vested with the rights and duties of this section if those persons have used reasonable efforts to notify all other surviving adult persons of the same degree of kinship of their instructions and are not aware of any opposition to those instructions by the majority of all surviving competent adult persons of the same degree of kinship.

(f) For the purpose of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

(1) “Adult” means an individual who has attained 18 years of age.

(2) “Child” means a natural or adopted child of the owner.

(3) “Competent” means an individual who has never not been declared incompetent by a court of law, regardless of whether that individual has received any subsequent declarations of competency or who has been declared competent by a court of law following a declaration of incompetence.

9069.18.

 (a) A district may permit the use of the unoccupied portion or portions of a decedent owner’s plot, provided a person or persons, who purport an entitlement to the use of those unoccupied portion or portions, provides an affidavit stating their personal knowledge of the facts setting forth the fact of the death of the owner, and the name of the person or persons entitled to the use of the plot pursuant to this chapter.

(b) A district shall not be liable for any action in connection with the acceptance of an affidavit under this section unless the district has actual knowledge and notice of false representations included therein.

9069.20.

 At the time of purchase, the district shall notify the purchaser of interment rights, in writing, of the law governing the succession of ownership as set forth in this chapter, and the district’s policy for sale or transfer of those rights created pursuant to subdivision (k) of Section 9041.