A Report on Michigan Laws Regulating Burials, Cremations, and Cemeteries

Abstract

The Michigan Constitution grants the Legislature the power to pass laws to promote and protect public health. While the Michigan Constitution does not specifically mention burials, handling dead bodies, or any other subject related to death and dying, regulating these areas helps promote and protect public health. Thus, the Michigan Legislature has used this authority to promulgate numerous statutes regulating this area. This report summarizes these statutes in an effort to provide a broad-based overview of this area of law. This report was originally drafted to assist the Michigan Law Revision Commission in discovering defects and anachronisms in the law that should be addressed by the Michigan Legislature. However, this report is particularly useful to any practitioner or academic looking for a discussion of the law in these areas.

Keywords: burials, creamation, cemetaries, mortuary science, regulations