buried in the backyard

Recently, there was a discussion on one of our local online bulletin boards about the high cost of funeral and burial services, and one of the women on there explained that she has already established in her will that she wants to be buried in her yard. She says this will save her money and then she doesn't have to worry about being exhumed later when some corporation decides that the local cemetery is prime real estate for a condo. Is being buried in your own backyard a viable option?

I'm not sure what kind of burial policy most municipal governments have, but I would think that most would want you to bury your loved ones in a proper cemetery. While it would obviously save you (or your loved ones) money to not have to pay for a burial plot, I have to wonder what negative consequences you might incur to those already burdened with grief.

For example, let's say that you leave behind en estate that will need to be sold, with the proceeds divided among your survivors. Are they going to have trouble selling the place if Mom and Pop are buried in the backyard? Perhaps. I'm not sure how I would feel about having some other family's cemetery in my yard. I might choose not to purchase a property because of that sticky detail. Or I might this it was cool and creepy, and use it to my advantage during Halloween. :)

And if your loved ones could sell the property (with your graves attached), will they have to take less because it comes with a cemetery? It's like a good friend of mine who recently purchased a house and got a phenomenal deal on it. I was shocked at how much cheaper it sold for compared to similar homes on the market. The previous owner, however, had just died in the house, and whether you are superstitious or not, you have to understand that some people will not want to live in a house where someone had just died, especially if it was a violent death. So it sold for less, to my friend's benefit.

In the old days, family cemeteries were more common for a number of reasons. For one, families often passed down their property to their descendants and the property stayed in the family. I'd be much more inclined to have myself buried on my property if I thought that my children would end up living here. But I'm just one of those hopeless romantics who envisions a "family estate" that can be passed down from generation to generation, even though that tradition no longer exists in this country.