{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-36-36-7126","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 36, § 36-7126","heading":"Establishment and maintenance of cemetery merchandise","body":"trust funds\n\nA. Each organization shall establish and maintain a cemetery\n\nmerchandise trust fund with a financial institution having trust\n\npowers. A cemetery merchandise trust fund shall at all times be in\n\nthe custody of a financial institution. Any cemetery merchandise\n\ntrust funds may be invested, reinvested, exchanged, retained, sold\n\nand managed as a part of common trust funds in the manner provided\n\nin the Oklahoma Trust Act, Sections 175.1 through 175.57 of Title 60\n\nof the Oklahoma Statutes, and any amendments thereto. A copy of\n\neach contract or a written notice containing all relevant\n\ninformation regarding the prepaid cemetery merchandise contracts for\n\nwhich deposits are made shall be furnished to the financial\n\ninstitution. The financial institution shall serve as trustee for\n\nthe purposes of the Cemetery Merchandise Trust Act.\n\nB. Deposits to a cemetery merchandise trust fund shall be\n\ncarried in the name of the organization and the amounts deposited\n\ntherein may be commingled. Provided, however, the accounting\n\nrecords shall establish a separate account for each prepaid cemetery\n\nmerchandise contract and shall show the amounts deposited, and the\n\nincome or loss accruing thereon, with respect to each prepaid\n\ncemetery merchandise contract. The trustee shall reimburse the\n\norganization for all income taxes and costs incurred with respect to\n\nthe operation of the fund, and the trustee shall be reimbursed from\n\nthe earnings of the fund for all reasonable costs incurred in\n\nserving as trustee, including a reasonable fee for its services.\n\nThe taxes and costs shall be paid from earnings for the fund prior\n\nto the allocation of earnings to the individual accounts.\n\nC. An organization entering into a prepaid cemetery merchandise\n\ncontract shall be entitled to retain all of the purchase price under\n\nthe prepaid cemetery merchandise contract until it has received an\n\namount equal to thirty-five percent (35%) of the purchase price of\n\nthe cemetery merchandise sold in a prepaid cemetery merchandise\n\ncontract.\n\nD. After an organization has received the amount it is entitled\n\nto receive, in accordance with subsection C of this section, all\n\npayments of the purchase price to the organization pursuant to a\n\nprepaid cemetery merchandise contract shall be deposited by the\n\norganization in a cemetery merchandise trust fund until such time as\n\nthe requirements of subsection E of this section have been satisfied\n\nor delivery is made of the cemetery merchandise, or until an amount\n\nsatisfying the minimum funding requirement has been deposited.\n\nThereafter, all payments of the purchase price in excess of the\n\nminimum funding requirement may be retained by the organization.\n\nDeposits shall be made within ten (10) business days after the end\n\nof the month in which such deposits are received by the\n\norganization.\n\nE. Annually, as of December 31 of each year, each organization\n\nshall determine the wholesale cost for all cemetery merchandise\n\ncovered by a prepaid cemetery merchandise contract for which funds\n\nare then held in a cemetery merchandise trust or in an individual\n\nmerchandise account. If the amount held with respect to a prepaid\n\ncemetery merchandise contract exceeds the minimum funding required,\n\nthe excess shall be paid by the trustee of the cemetery merchandise\n\ntrust to the organization. In such event, no further deposit shall\n\nbe required with respect to the prepaid cemetery merchandise\n\ncontract until such time as the amount held no longer exceeds the\n\nminimum funding requirement. If the minimum funding requirement is\n\nnot satisfied, no amount shall be paid to or withdrawn by the\n\norganization and the organization shall continue or shall resume, as\n\nthe case may be, making the deposits required by subsection D of\n\nthis section.\n\nF. No part of the monies required to be held in a cemetery\nt until such time as the amount held no longer exceeds the\n\nminimum funding requirement. If the minimum funding requirement is\n\nnot satisfied, no amount shall be paid to or withdrawn by the\n\norganization and the organization shall continue or shall resume, as\n\nthe case may be, making the deposits required by subsection D of\n\nthis section.\n\nF. No part of the monies required to be held in a cemetery\n\nmerchandise trust fund pursuant to the provisions of the Cemetery\n\nMerchandise Trust Act shall ever be used for any other purpose other\n\nthan investment as authorized by this section until delivery of the\n\ncemetery merchandise is made.\n\nG. Delivery of cemetery merchandise for the purposes of this\n\nsubsection may be accomplished in one of the following ways:\n\n1. Actual and physical delivery of the cemetery merchandise to\n\nthe purchaser;\n\n2. Physical attachment of the cemetery merchandise to realty or\n\ncemetery space owned by the purchaser;\n\n3. Certification by an approved manufacturer to the purchaser\n\nthat the organization has paid the wholesale price of the cemetery\n\nmerchandise and that the cemetery merchandise shall be delivered\n\nupon request of the purchaser;\n\n4. Written notification to the purchaser by the organization\n\nthat the cemetery merchandise is in the possession of the\n\norganization and may be removed by the purchaser upon full payment\n\nfor the cemetery merchandise; and\n\n5. When construction or permanent installation of the cemetery\n\nmerchandise has been completed, with respect to cemetery merchandise\n\nwhich is affixed to realty.\n\nH. Upon delivery of the cemetery merchandise pursuant to a\n\nprepaid cemetery merchandise trust contract, the organization shall\n\npresent the trustee with a verified statement that delivery has been\n\nmade, and upon the presentation, the trustee shall pay to the\n\norganization the amount of any funds held in trust with respect to\n\nthe cemetery merchandise delivered and no further deposits shall be\n\nmade with respect to the cemetery merchandise.\n\nI. Should the buyer move to a community in which the cemetery\n\ndoes not accept transfers of outer enclosures from the cemetery\n\nwhich the buyer has entered into a cemetery merchandise contract,\n\nthe selling organization will refund sixty-five percent (65%) of the\n\nretail price plus interest equal to the annual interest computed\n\nfrom the date that the contract was paid in full based on the\n\npassbook interest rate of the financial institution at the time that\n\nthe refund is requested.","path":["OK Code","Title 36"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os36.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"4791888296944e6c5c0b6d739058bdf9d6565a65c6839d0fa468ebf4ad06b50b","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-36-36-7125","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-36-36-7127"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}