Ky. Rev. Stat. » Chapter 381
Kentucky Revised Statutes

Ky. Rev. Stat. § 381.697 (2026)

Cemeteries maintained by legal owners

✓ laws through the 2026 session (checked Sept. 2026)
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section KY-LRCapps.legislature.ky.gov JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

(1) Every cemetery in Kentucky except private family cemeteries shall be maintained by its legal owner or owners, without respect to the individual owners of burial plots in the cemetery, in such a manner so as to keep the burial grounds or cemetery free of growth of weeds, free from accumulated debris, displaced tombstones, or other signs and indication of vandalism or gross neglect.

(2) The owner or owners of public or private burial grounds, regardless of size or number of graves, shall protect the burial grounds from desecration or destruction as stipulated in KRS 525.115(1)(a), (b), or (c) or from being used for dumping grounds, building sites, or any other use which may result in the burial grounds being damaged or destroyed. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to the owner or owners of public or private burial grounds when the public or private burial grounds have been desecrated, damaged, or destroyed as the result of a crime by another as defined by KRS 500.080.

(3) The owner or owners of private burial grounds shall be required to construct cemetery protection structures only if the burial ground is located in a county with a county cemetery board and if the board provides compensation to the private burial ground owner for supplies, labor, and other expenses associated with such construction.

(4) The governing authorities of any city within whose corporate limits any public or private burial grounds lie may require the owner or those having claims to the grounds to properly care for them. Effective: July 15, 2016 History: Amended 2016 Ky. Acts ch. 22, sec. 7, effective July 15, 2016. -- Amended 2002 Ky. Acts ch. 276, sec. 2, effective July 15, 2002. -- Created 1972 Ky. Acts ch. 284, sec. 2.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1992–2021 · leading case: Loid v. Kell, 844 S.W.2d 428 (Ky. Ct. App. 1992).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Loid v. Kell, 844 S.W.2d 428 (Ky. Ct. App. 1992). · cites it 6× “The trial court ruled that appellees, who were individuals who had entered into a written contract for the burial of their pets, had obtained an easement in the real estate, whereby appellant, Ruth Ann Loid, was enjoined from interfering with said burial rights for a period of…”
City of Versailles v. Shirley Jane Johnson, 636 S.W.3d 480 (Ky. 2021). · cites it 2× “Finally, we note that Johnson’s statutory argument based on KRS 381.697 is similarly unpersuasive because KRS 381.”
Ky. Rev. Stat. § 381.697(2): 1 case
City of Versailles v. Shirley Jane Johnson, 636 S.W.3d 480 (Ky. 2021). “Finally, we note that Johnson’s statutory argument based on KRS 381.697 is similarly unpersuasive because KRS 381.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.