(a)  Whenever an interment of the remains of a member or of a relative of a member of the family of the record owner or of the remains of the record owner is made in a plot transferred by deed or certificate of ownership to an individual owner, the plot shall become the family plot of the owner.

(b)  If the owner dies without making disposition of the plot either in his or her will by a specific devise, or by a written declaration filed and recorded in the office of the cemetery authority, any unoccupied portions of the plot shall pass according to the laws of intestate succession as set forth in Sections 6400 to 6413, inclusive, of the Probate Code.

(c)  As of January 1, 2002, any unoccupied portions of a family plot that became inalienable pursuant to this section as it read on December 31, 2001, shall no longer be inalienable and shall pass according to the laws of intestate succession as set forth in Sections 6400 to 6413, inclusive, of the Probate Code. No sale, transfer, or donation of any unused portion of a family plot made alienable under this subdivision shall be made unless all persons entitled to interment in the family plot under Sections 8651 and 8652 are deceased or have expressly waived in writing the right to be interred in the family plot.

(d)  The seller of a cemetery plot shall notify the buyer that unused portions of a family plot may pass through intestate succession unless written disposition is made by the buyer and may be sold, transferred, or donated by the buyer’s heirs. The seller shall notify the buyer of the effect of a future transfer, sale, or donation of the unused portion of a family plot on any endowment for care or maintenance of the plot that the buyer may purchase in conjunction with the purchase of the cemetery plot.

(Amended by Stats. 2001, Ch. 516, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2002.)