Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 6, September 18, 2024
(1) A
disinterment permit may be issued as follows:
a. Disinterment of a dead human body or
fetus, without a court order, shall be allowed for the purpose of autopsy or
reburial only, and then only if supervised by a funeral director.
b. Disinterment of cremated remains, without
a court order, shall be allowed, but only if supervised by a funeral
director.
c. The state registrar,
without a court order, shall not issue a permit without the consent of the
person authorized to control the decedent's remains under Iowa Code section
144C.5.
d. Disinterment of a dead body or fetus for
the purpose of reburial may be allowed by court order only upon a showing of
substantial benefit to the public, and then only if supervised by a funeral
director.
e. Disinterment of a dead
body or fetus for the purpose of autopsy by court order shall be allowed only
when reasonable cause is shown that someone is criminally or civilly
responsible for such death, after hearing, upon reasonable notice prescribed by
the court to the person authorized to control the decedent's remains under Iowa
Code section
144C.5,
and then only if supervised by a funeral director.
f. Disinterment of a dead body or fetus for
the purpose of cremation may be allowed by court order if supervised by a
funeral director. Subsequent to the disinterment, cremation of the body shall
only be allowed upon a determination by the state or county medical examiner
that the death was due to natural causes.
(2) A permit for disinterment shall be issued
by the state registrar according to rules adopted pursuant to Iowa Code chapter
17A or when ordered by the district court of the county in which such body is
buried. A person authorized to control final disposition of a decedent's
remains under Iowa Code section
144C.5
is an interested person and shall be entitled to notice prior to the obtaining
of a court order.
(3) Disinterment
permits shall be required for any relocation aboveground or belowground of
remains from the original site of interment. Disinterment permits shall be
valid for 30 days after the date the permit is signed by the state registrar.
Disinterment permits are issued on a form as prescribed by the state registrar
with copies to be distributed as follows:
a.
One copy filed with the sexton or person in charge of the cemetery in which
disinterment is to be made;
b. One
copy to be used during transportation of the remains;
c. One copy filed with the sexton or person
in charge of the cemetery of reburial; and
d. One copy to be returned to the state
registrar by the funeral director within ten days after the date of
disinterment.
(4) When
removed from the vault for final burial, a dead human body or fetus, properly
embalmed and placed in a receiving vault, shall not be considered a
disinterment.
(5) The following
persons who are competent adults may acquire a disinterment permit without a
court order pursuant to Iowa Code section
144.34 as
amended by 2020 Iowa Acts, Senate File 2135, and section
144C.5
in the following descending order:
a. A
designee, or alternate designee, acting pursuant to the decedent's
declaration.
b. The surviving
spouse of the decedent, if not legally separated from the decedent, whose
whereabouts are reasonably ascertainable.
c. A surviving child of the decedent or, if
there is more than one surviving child, a majority of the surviving children
whose whereabouts are reasonably ascertainable.
d. The surviving parent or parents of the
decedent whose whereabouts are reasonably ascertainable.
e. A surviving grandchild of the decedent or,
if there is more than one surviving grandchild, a majority of the surviving
grandchildren whose whereabouts are reasonably ascertainable.
f. A surviving sibling of the decedent or, if
there is more than one surviving sibling, a majority of the surviving siblings
whose whereabouts are reasonably ascertainable.
g. A surviving grandparent of the decedent
or, if there is more than one surviving grandparent, a majority of the
surviving grandparents whose whereabouts are reasonably
ascertainable.
h. A person in the
next degree of kinship to the decedent in the order named by law to inherit the
estate of the decedent under the rules of inheritance for intestate succession
or, if there is more than one such surviving person, a majority of such
surviving persons whose whereabouts are reasonably ascertainable.
i. A person who represents that the person
knows the identity of the decedent and who signs an affidavit warranting the
identity of the decedent and assuming the right to control final disposition of
the decedent's remains and the responsibility to pay any expense attendant to
such final disposition. A person who warrants the identity of the decedent
pursuant to this paragraph is liable for all damages that result, directly or
indirectly, from that warrant.
j.
The county medical examiner, if responsible for the decedent's
remains.
(6) A funeral
director may await a court order before proceeding with disinterment of a
decedent's remains if the funeral director is aware of a dispute among:
a. Persons who are members of the same class
of persons described in subrule 97.14(5); or
b. Persons who are authorized under subrule
97.14(5) and the executor named in the decedent's will or personal
representative appointed by the court.
(7) Due consideration under this rule shall
be given to the public health, the preferences of a person authorized to
control final disposition of a decedent's remains under Iowa Code section
144C.5,
and any court order.
