ALDOI - Endowment Care Cemeteries

Endowment Care Cemeteries

All cemeteries in Alabama are endowment care cemeteries if they have charged fees for interment rights after April 30, 2002, except for cemeteries owned or operated by government entities and religious institutions. Endowment care cemeteries must establish and fund an endowment care trust fund with and held by a bank, trust company, savings and loan association, or a board of trustee consisting of at least three bonded board members. The endowment care fund must be held intact, except for income from the trust that may be used exclusively for cemetery maintenance. As of May 1, 2007, all endowment care cemeteries, including newly organized cemeteries, must have at least $25,000 in the endowment care trust fund. Code Sections of the Alabama Preneed Funeral and Cemetery Act applicable to Endowment Care Cemeteries are Sections 27-17A-45 thru 27-17A-56.

Each endowment care cemetery must submit an Annual Report of Endowment Care Trust Fund. This report along with a statement of the activities of the Endowment Care Trust must be submitted to the Commissioner with 90 days of the close of each calendar year. The report requires disclosure of the amount held in trust at the end of both the current and prior year.