We'll have to move the volleyball net out of the way.

News about a Norway woman burying her deceased friend in the backyard came out this week.  The 83-year-old woman says that before her best friend died about 18 months ago, she had begged the woman to keep her close in death.  The woman did, by taking two days to dig the shallow grave, and then lay her friend to rest.

Cops dug the deceased up this week, and the woman may be issued a summons for not doing things properly.

Here in Maine you can bury the deceased in your backyard, but legally, there's a few things that you'll have to do first.

You must first have a legal death certificate completed.  So, if you bypass a funeral director, you'll have to go to others to complete it, and you'll have up to five days to then deliver and file it with your local town or city office.   People like a licensed doctor or a physician's assistant will have to fill out the medical portion of it.

Then, you must check with local authorities to first to establish a burial ground on your property.  Your won private cemetery can be up to a quarter of an acre in size and must be either fenced in or have some sort of boundary markers around it.

If you're planning on moving the body from the place of death for burial somewhere else, then you must get a permit to transport the body there.

So, before you start digging, check websites like THIS for information, and then visit your local town hall or city office to make sure you'll be taking care of things legally.

 

More From WWMJ Ellsworth Maine