Q: Can someone be buried on their family farm where they lived their entire life in Allegheny County Md?

A: Private burial plots on an owner's land is only permitted if the county code for the local jurisdiction allows it; otherwise, it is prohbited by state statute, which requires that bodies be buried in a licensed cemetery. This is a health code issue, as well as a land use issue to protect innocent purchasers down the road. Alleghany County does not appear to have a specific code section addressing burial plots, but may have zoning restrictions in their code that does the same. You will need to address your inquiry to the Allegheny County government, website here:

https://gov.allconet.org/

Click on the "Departments" link and then the Planning and Zoning Department, or the County Attorney, as a starting point.

Assuming there is no express prohibition, there are some considerations you should think through before creating a burial plot on private land: If the land is ever sold in the future, Maryland law provides that a deed conveying property that includes a burial plot does NOT convey the burial plot, and the blood relatives of the person(s) buried on the conveyed parcel have the right to an easement for access and visitation to the burial plot. This will both reduce the value of the land for purposes of resale, and will likely reduce the number of buyers willing to purchase it. Further, there are many lawsuits against sellers of land that include burial plots that were not disclosed to the buyers, who then sue the sellers for non-disclosure, since they cannot use or build over the burial plot (and do not want buried bodies on their property). You should also consider the future care and maintenance of the burial plot, and whether perpetual care and preservation of the area and markers is financially and physically feasible, or desirable. There is a procedue to notify the appropriate office to include the exact presence and locatio of an established burial plot in the land records for the parcel of land where it is located. This then becomes part of the permanent land records for the property, and would put on notice all subsequent buyers to the existence and location of the plot.