Woodlawn Memorial Park is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving the past, serving the present, and preparing for the future. Along with many other cemeteries around Ontario, as a not-for-profit organization, we rely on the Care and Maintenance Fund to upkeep our cemetery grounds.
Care and Maintenance, formerly known as Perpetual Care, contributions became mandatory in Ontario in 1955. This trust fund is legally required in Ontario, and takes a prescribed amount or percentage of the purchase price of all interment and scattering rights sold (excluding tax) and puts the funds toward ensuring the long-term upkeep of a cemetery.
Who Pays Into The Fund?
Upon sale, the Interment Rights Holder (the person named on the deed as the owner of the exclusive right of burial) pays into the fund. The cemetery operator also needs to make contributions to the fund from the sale of in-ground graves, crypts, niches, and scattering rights.
How Is The Fund Used?
The income generated from this fund is used to maintain, secure, and preserve the cemetery grounds.
Services that can be provided through this fund include:
- Cutting and trimming of grass
- Re-levelling and/or seeding of lots or scattering grounds
- Maintenance of cemetery roads, sewers, and water systems
- Maintenance of cemetery landscaping
- Maintenance of mausoleum and columbarium
- Repairs and general upkeep of cemetery maintenance buildings and equipment
- Future development of cemetery grounds
Does Upkeep Include Flowerbeds and Memorial Trees?
No. While the funds do support general cemetery landscaping, as the Interment Rights Holder, you must still maintain your grave plot with preferred memorializations or plantings (such as flowerbeds) that comply with our cemetery by-laws.
The purpose of this trust fund is to ensure that cemeteries have the money that they need to be able to upkeep their grounds so they can remain a respectful place of rest for years to come.
If you wish to plant flowerbeds and you live out of town or cannot maintain them, our office provides additional services to plant or maintain flowerbeds.
The Care & Maintenance Fund is a forever investment that helps us preserve the past, serve the present, and prepare for the future. If you have any questions about the fund or your lot, please contact our team for more information.
