You can buy the ‘exclusive right of burial’ for a grave in one of our cemeteries.

However, you cannot pre-purchase a grave; a grave can only be purchased at point of need, when arranging either a burial or an interment of cremated remains.

This doesn’t mean you own the land itself, it means that you decide who can be buried there during a certain period of time. You can choose to be buried there yourself as long as you still own the grave, or the person who does gives their permission.

There is a limit to the number of burials, including cremated remains, which can take place in each grave.

Costs

We have a full list of our exclusive right of burial fees on our funeral costs page.

There will be additional costs each time someone is interred in the grave, and if you want to have a headstone or other memorial.

It is possible to buy Expired Exclusive Right of Burial for a grave previously owned by someone else at a 50% reduction of the prices above.

The Grant of Exclusive Right of Burial

When you buy a grave, we’ll give you a Grant of Exclusive Right of Burial (sometimes called a ‘deed’) which will show:

• Where the grave is (the grave number)
• How long you will own the exclusive right of burial

Keep this in a safe place because you’ll need it if you want to bury someone there in the future. If you move house or change your name please let us know in writing so that we can update our records.

Extending your ownership

If your exclusive right of burial is due to expire and you’d like to extend it, please contact us. We do try to ensure there is a connection or family link between the previous owner and the new owner. If it expires, someone else may buy the exclusive right of burial for the grave.

Transferring ownership to someone else

We prepare all documentation for the transfer of Exclusive Right of Burial. You need to telephone our office at Walton Lea Crematorium to complete a questionnaire followed by an appointment at Walton Lea Crematorium to complete the required forms.

If you wish to transfer ownership to someone else during your lifetime or add another owner contact us and we’ll ask you to complete a Form of Assignment or Deed of variation and send it back to us along with the Grant of Exclusive Right of Burial.

If you want to transfer ownership after you die, include this in your will and make sure the person you are leaving it to knows where to find the Grant of Exclusive Right of Burial.

You can find the fees to transfer ownership on our funeral costs page.

Claiming the grave if the owner has died

If you’re trying to claim ownership of a grave because the owner has died, please contact us.

If there’s a will, where probate is obtained which states that the grave should be passed to you then we’ll ask for:

• the Grant of the Exclusive Right of Burial
• a copy of the will and the grant of probate

• an assent from the executor of the probate, giving the Exclusive Right of Burial to you (we prepare this)

If there’s no will but you’d like to claim ownership of the grave, you’ll need to send us:

• the Grant of the Exclusive Right of Burial
• the grant of letters of administration
• an assent from the administrator giving the Grant of Exclusive Right of Burial to you (we prepare this)

If the person’s will or estate doesn’t go into probate, you’ll need to send us:

• the Grant of the Exclusive Right of Burial
• the death certificate (If not cremated at Walton lea Crematorium or buried at one of Warrington Borough Council’s cemeteries).
• a statutory declaration detailing your relationship to the owner (we prepare this)
• a form of renouncement from all other people who may be entitled to claim the Grant of Exclusive Right of Burial (we prepare this, form of renouncement no will, assent of executor with a will)

Statutory declarations must be witnessed by a ‘commissioner for oaths’ such as a solicitor or a magistrate. Fees for processing a declaration or on our funeral costs page. 

If the Grant of Exclusive Right of Burial is lost

A deed lost statutory declaration will to be prepared by us.

Statutory declarations must be witnessed by a ‘commissioner for oaths’ such as a solicitor or a magistrate. Fees for processing a declaration or on our funeral costs page.

After the exclusive right expires

If your exclusive right of burial expires and you don’t want to renew it, you may need to pay to remove the headstone, memorial or grave marker. You can choose a stonemason of your choice to remove the memorial from the cemetery. Alternatively the removal is done by us, our fee is on our funeral costs page.

We will store the headstone for six months, then make a monthly charge if you want us to keep it in storage (for example when removing a memorial from a grave to re-open it for a further burial). Charges are listed on our funeral costs page.