Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 46-8-103 (2026)
Duty to protect graves or crypt - Disturbances prohibited - Transfer of remains
✓ current as of May 2026
- (a) A deed for real property that indicates the presence of a gravesite or crypt containing human remains on the property conveyed obligates the immediate and future buyer or buyers of the property to protect the gravesite or crypt from disturbance. The owner of real property has the responsibility for taking appropriate action, prior to conveying the property, to ensure that the deed reflects the presence of the gravesite or crypt on the property.
- (b) Real property that has a deed that reflects the presence of human remains on the property is protected from disturbance or development as follows:
- (1) A gravesite may not be disturbed in the area of ten feet (10') surrounding the perimeter of the gravesite; and
- (2) A crypt may not be disturbed in the area of five feet (5') surrounding the perimeter of the crypt.
- (c) The owner of real property that has a deed that reflects the presence of human remains on the property has the option of transferring the remains, at the owner's expense, pursuant to the procedure for termination of use as a cemetery in chapter 4 of this title. However, prior to filing any action in chancery court to transfer the remains located in a gravesite or crypt, the proponent of the action shall first publish a notice in a newspaper of general circulation within the county in which the gravesite or crypt is located. The notice shall include the name of the proponent of the action, the location of the property where the remains are located and any name that can be discerned from the site of any person there interred. Upon complete transfer of all human remains from the property that are properly described on the deed, the buyer has the right to the use of the area previously containing the remains as is consistent for the remainder of the property.
Acts 1996, ch. 921, §3; 2008 , ch. 1147, § 1.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 1
case, 2020–2020 · leading case: Kenneth C. Miller v. Michael Kenneth Miller (2020).
Kenneth C. Miller v. Michael Kenneth Miller (2020). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 46-8-103 (Supp. 2019). Citing the plain language of the statute, Michael and Tammy Miller assert that the statute does not apply to this action because none of the deeds presented in the chain of title to the Snyder Tract or to the Servient Estate indicate the…”
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