The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2024 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
Title 18 : Health
Chapter 107 : Deaths, Burials, and Autopsies
Subchapter 003 : RIGHTS OF FAMILY MEMBERS, OTHER INTERESTED PERSONS, FUNERAL DIRECTORS, AND OPERATORS OF DISPOSITION FACILITIES
(Cite as: 18 V.S.A. § 5228)-
§ 5228. Forfeiture
An individual recognized under section 5227 of this title to have a right of disposition shall forfeit that right in the following circumstances:
(1) the individual is identified by a law enforcement agency as a person of interest and likely to be prosecuted or is under prosecution for first or second degree murder or voluntary manslaughter in connection with the decedent’s death, if the status of the investigation or the prosecution is known to the funeral director or disposition facility operator, except that if the prosecution is not pursued or the individual is acquitted of the alleged crime before the remains are disposed of, the individual shall regain the right;
(2) the individual does not exercise the right of disposition within three days after notification of the death or within five days after the decedent’s time of death, whichever is earlier;
(3) the Probate Division of the Superior Court pursuant to section 5231 of this title determines that the individual entitled to the right of disposition and the decedent were estranged at the time of death; or
(4) as otherwise ordered by the Probate Division of the Superior Court. (Added 2007, No. 56, § 1; amended 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 238a, eff. Feb. 1, 2011; 2021, No. 169 (Adj. Sess.), § 7, eff. January 1, 2023; 2023, No. 6, § 164, eff. July 1, 2023.)
