Do you need a Petition to Exhume and Transfer Body Remains?
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What is exhumation?
Exhumation involves digging up and removing human remains for public interest and or personal reasons such as:
- Medical investigation/ research
- New evidence/ disintermentÂ
- Ensure an earlier jury verdict/ DNA profiling
- Planned development projects
- SanitationÂ
- Archaeological investigation
- Honoring/ Protecting remainsÂ
Most societies and cultures embrace burial as a means of disposal and care for the body after death, while maintaining the preservation of rest and peace. A person who is seeking to exhume a body must have a petition to have the body exhumed (documents included).Â
Laws surrounding exhumation are due to the general disinclination to disturb remains, health concerns around the potential transmission of disease from decaying bodies; and again, in many societies and cultures, the removal of a buried corpse is regarded as a forbidden and sacrilegious act.Â
State laws regarding exhumation vary, so local laws should be researched to determine specific requirements in your area.
Do you need a Petition to Exhume and Transfer Body Remains?
