(1) Pursuant to §
10-14-9(c)(1) of the Act, the Secretary of State must be notified when any cemetery or preneed dealer is sold or the ownership is otherwise transferred, or a controlling interest is sold or transferred.
(2) The following documents must be filed as an application for registration by the new owner with the Secretary of State prior to the new owner operating said cemetery or preneed dealer:
(a) An original application for registration executed by the prospective buyer, with all fees required by law, on a form prescribed by the Secretary of State;
(b) If necessary, a written request for a change of trustee, escrow agent, or account depository, in accordance with any controlling provision of a trust agreement or an escrow agreement; and
(c) Information sufficient to demonstrate that the prospective seller is not indebted to the preneed escrow account or to the perpetual care trust account. Such information may include but is not limited to:
1. A current financial report for the perpetual care trust fund and for the preneed escrow account prepared by a certified public accountant or a public accountant, reflecting the cemetery's liability to each account and the current balances of each account; or a joint financial report for the perpetual care trust fund and the preneed escrow account, the accuracy of which is represented by both the previous cemetery owner and the new cemetery owner reflecting the total liability to each account and the current balance of each account;
2. Verifications from the depositories showing the actual account balances for the perpetual care trust fund and the preneed escrow account as of the date of closing;
3. A statement from the trustee of the perpetual care trust fund stating that the perpetual care trust account is not encumbered;
4. A statement from the escrow agent of the preneed escrow account stating that the preneed escrow account is not encumbered; and
5. A copy of the proposed contract for sale of the cemetery between the prospective seller and the prospective buyer which may have the sales price deleted.
(3) When, based on the documents filed, the Secretary of State finds the documents to be satisfactory proof that the prospective seller is not indebted to any account, and the new owner otherwise satisfies the statutory requirements, the Secretary of State shall issue a new certificate of registration to the prospective buyer.
O.C.G.A. Secs. 10-14-14, 44-3-135, 44-3-139.
