Resting in Peace, By the Book: Burial Laws in Germany vs. the U.S. and Maine

Written By dKay in Maine

If you read my previous post, Sacred Spaces: Reflecting on Cemetery Traditions Across Cultures, you knew that this follow-up was coming. That exploration of cultural differences in cemetery traditions naturally raises the question: What are the specific rules shaping these sacred spaces? After all, it’s often said that Germans have a rule for everything, and cemeteries and burials are no exception. In this post, I’ll take you through the laws surrounding burials and cemetery management in Germany, contrasting them with those in the U.S.—and more specifically, Maine. The differences may surprise you!

Are there rules for this? Absolutely!

Germany has a Bestattungspflicht (“burial obligation”) law, requiring families to arrange and pay for burial or cremation according to public health standards. This law is based on the idea that a dignified burial honors both the individual and the community. As you would expect from Germany, there’s a paragraph (§ 1968) in the German Civil Code [(Bürgerliches Gezetzbuch (BGB)] that clarifies who’s responsible for paying the cost. First in order are those designated as heirs, independent of the family relationship.

First in order are those designated as heirs, independent of the family relationship. If the inheritance hasn’t been changed as part of the deceased’s will or if all possible heirs have declined the inheritance, the following order of precedence applies based on family relationships: spouses, life partners, adult children, parents, adult siblings, grandparents, and adult grandchildren. Even if an inheritance is declined, the responsibility to arrange a funeral remains based on close family relationships. This also applies if the personal relationship between the deceased and the payer was not harmonious during their lifetime or there was no contact. If the person responsible for the funeral does not agree to take on the costs or planning of the funeral or is unable to be found or reached, the regulatory authority will assess that the deceased must be buried. However, the full cost, usually higher than if the person responsible would have planned the funeral, will be irrevocably confiscated from the person responsible for the funeral in a timely manner.

In contrast, most states in the U.S. don’t have a similar burial obligation law.

In the U.S., if the deceased left an estate, funeral costs are typically paid from it before other debts are settled. If there is no estate, funeral expenses generally fall to the next of kin, but this is not enforced as strictly as in Germany. If there’s no will or estate, family members aren’t generally required by law to cover funeral expenses unless they voluntarily sign a funeral contract with a funeral home. In some states, "filial responsibility" laws may allow creditors to seek payments from children, but this is rare and usually limited to unpaid healthcare expenses rather than funeral costs.

Interestingly, though, Maine has specific legal guidelines for handling and disposing of human remains, similar in some ways to Germany’s Bestattungspflicht.

In Title 13, §1032, Maine state law requires that deceased individuals be “decently buried, entombed in a mausoleum, vault or tomb, cremated or subjected to natural organic reduction within a reasonable time after death. The permanent disposition of such bodies or remains must be by interment in the earth, or deposit in a chamber, vault or tomb of a cemetery owned, maintained and operated in accordance with the laws of this State, by deposit in a crypt of a mausoleum or by cremation or natural organic reduction.” Additionally, in Maine, burial or cremation costs for a deceased person are first the responsibility of close relatives, like the spouse or adult children, based on their financial ability. The funeral director must notify local authorities early on, and if no relatives or resources can pay, the municipality may cover a portion of the costs. This, however, contrasts with Germany’s Bestattungspflicht, where family members must arrange and pay for burial regardless of the status of inheritance and can face enforcement if they refuse.

There must be more…

Of course there is. There’s also Germany’s Friedhofspflicht (“cemetery obligation”), which applies to all human remains, requiring that they be kept in an appropriate place like a grave, columbarium, or mausoleum, typically under municipal or church oversight. Unlike some countries where families might keep ashes at home or scatter them privately, German law largely prohibits these practices. According to German law, keeping an urn with the ashes of a loved one is an administrative offence that can result in a fine.

Unlike in the U.S., where the handling of remains may include more personal choices, Germany's cemetery obligations are built around collective respect and responsibility. The Friedhofspflicht is intended to support reverence for the deceased, public health standards, and continuity in maintaining memorial sites. From the website of the Bundesverband Deutscher Bestatter (“Federal Association of German Undertakers”):

When people began burying the dead, they feared poisoning groundwater or causing other health risks by burying corpses. Because of these fears, communities located their cemeteries outside of residential areas, so that burying the deceased in these same cemeteries became a kind of tacit agreement. It was not until 1934 that the obligation to have a cemetery was officially regulated by law in the Cremation Act.

On top of that, Germany also had a Sargpflicht (“coffin obligation”), which is a regulation in Germany requiring that deceased individuals be buried in a coffin, whether they are buried in a traditional grave or cremated. This law has roots in German public health and sanitary practices and has been historically tied to the country's emphasis on maintaining dignity in burial practices. While Sargpflicht has been upheld by traditional regulations, the concept has evolved to accommodate some religious practices and eco-conscious burial options. Through the change in regulations, it’s now possible to bury a deceased person wrapped in a burial shroud instead of a coffin. However, this so-called Tuchbestattung (“cloth burial”) may differ from community to community as ground conditions may dictate the form of burial practice applied.  

Based on my research, I did not find information of strict laws concerning cemetery and coffin obligations for the U.S. or, more specifically Maine, but please let me know if you have information on this and share it with me.

While having a cemetery obligation might seem bewildering for some, in its core, German law emphasizes the importance of communal memorial spaces and respect for the deceased. The respect we have for the deceased is what made me feel uncomfortable when reading about how some cemeteries in the U.S. turn into “social hubs.” However, as you go deeper into the different burial forms available in Germany, you will see that many of them move away from the concept of having a dedicated grave that family members and friends tend to. But that’s a topic for another blog post.

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dKay in Maine
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