(a) No later than thirty (30) days prior to the sale or transfer of any cemetery required to be registered by this chapter, or the sale or transfer of a controlling interest in the cemetery company that owns the cemetery, the transferor shall notify the commissioner in writing, and:

(1) Submit any documentation or records the commissioner may require in order to determine the amount of any indebtedness of the transferor to the pre-need merchandise and services trust account or the improvement care trust fund; and

(2) Disclose any agreements between the transferor and transferee regarding:

(A) Any existing cemetery trust accounts established pursuant to this chapter; and

(B) Assumption or disclaimer of liabilities of the transferor.

(b) Except as provided in subsection (c), the transferee shall not be entitled to a certificate of registration for the cemetery until:

(1) The provisions of subsection (a) have been complied with; and

(2) Any indebtedness of the transferor to the pre-need merchandise and services trust account or the improvement care trust fund has been liquidated.

(c) Notwithstanding indebtedness of the transferor to the pre-need merchandise and services trust account or the improvement care trust fund, the commissioner may issue a certificate of registration to the transferee, if the commissioner determines that:

(1) The sale or transfer is in the best interests of the maintenance and continued operation of the cemetery;

(2) The sale or transfer is not designed to circumvent the provisions of this chapter; and

(3) The transferee has satisfactorily agreed to liquidate the indebtedness to the maximum feasible extent.

(d) The state may, for the benefit of the pre-need merchandise and services trust account or the improvement care trust fund:

(1) Recover from the transferor all sums that the transferor has not properly accounted for and paid into the fund; and

(2) Recover from the transferee all sums that the transferee has not properly accounted for and paid into the fund.

(e) The issuance of a certificate of registration under this section shall not operate to release any person, firm or corporation from any obligations to the pre-need merchandise and services trust account or the improvement care trust fund.