No. Perpetual care statutes are a fairly recent legislative enactment in the United States in response of providing some means to properly care for cemeteries in the future. In Kentucky the perpetual care statutes were enacted in the early 1980’s. Cemetery burials before 1980 did not have trusting requirement which set aside a portion of the sale in order to provide for the long term care, maintenance and embellishment of the cemetery. Many older Kentucky cemeteries, even if still active today, have trust funds only created in the 1980’s and therefore adequate to cover only recent cemetery operations.

In addition, Kentucky’s perpetual care fund statutes exempt from funding most all family, church, non-profit and city cemeteries from the law requiring perpetual care. Every state has different trusting provisions. The Attorney General’s office in Kentucky is responsible for auditing and enforcing of Kentucky’s perpetual care trust statutes.