Managing Plot Ownership

You may need to update plot ownership when transferring a plot to a family member, reselling it, recording that it has been sold back to the cemetery and reassigned to a new owner, or correcting an error.

You can easily manage plot ownership from the Plots, People, or Map page in Cemify.

The steps below explain how to remove, add, or change owners.

Included in this Article:

➕ Tip: Multiple Owners can be added to a plot.

From the Plots Page

Remove Ownership:

  1. Go to the Plots page.
  2. Find the plot you want to edit, then click on it.
  3. Click the three dots (⋯) to the right of the Owner’s name.
  4. Choose 'Remove Ownership' or 'Mark as Previous Owner', depending on the situation.
    • 'Remove Ownership' completely removes the person from the plot.
    • 'Mark as Previous Owner' keeps the historical record but marks them as no longer the current owner.

❗Note: Plots that have ownership removed will remain marked as 'Sold'. If the plot no longer has an active owner, you may also want to change its Plot Status (e.g., to 'Available' or 'Open'). Please visit this article for steps on how to change the Plot Status: Cemify Plot Statuses

➕ Tip: If you’re transferring ownership (for example, due to a sale or inheritance), it’s often best to select 'Mark as Previous Owner'. This preserves the ownership history for future reference. We also suggest adding a Plot Note explaining why the ownership of the plot was changed

Add a New Owner or Additional Owner:

  1. Go to the Plots page.
  2. Find the plot you want to edit, then click on it.
  3. Click '+ Add Owner' to the right of Owners.
  4. Begin typing the person’s name.
    • If the person already exists in Cemify, select them when their full name appears in the list.
    • If they do not exist yet, click '+ Create New Person' at the bottom of the list.
      • Fill in the new owner’s details in the window that appears.
  5. Click  'Save Ownership' when finished.

➕ Tip: You can edit an owner’s details later by opening their record from the People tab.

From the People Page

Remove Ownership of Plots:

  1. Go to the People tab and open the person’s record.
  2. Click Plots Owned to view all plots currently assigned to them.
  3. Click the three dots (⋯) to the right of a plot.
  4. Select 'Remove Ownership' or 'Mark as Previous Owner'.
      • 'Remove Ownership' completely removes the person from the plot.
      • 'Mark as Previous Owner' keeps the historical record but marks them as no longer the current owner.

❗Note: Plots that have ownership removed will remain marked as 'Sold'. If the plot no longer has an active owner, you may also want to change its Plot Status (e.g., to 'Available' or 'Open'). Please visit this article for steps on how to change the Plot Status: Cemify Plot Statuses

➕ Tip: If you’re transferring ownership (for example, due to a sale or inheritance), it’s often best to select 'Mark as Previous Owner'. This preserves the ownership history for future reference. We also suggest adding a Plot Note explaining why the ownership of the plot was changed

Add Ownership of Plots:

  1. Go to the People tab and open the person’s record.
  2. Click Plots Owned.
  3. Click '+ Add Plot Ownership'.
  4. Select the correct plots from the list.
  5. Click 'Save Ownership'.

From the Map Page

Add a New Owner or Additional Owner:

  1. Go to the Map page.
  2. Find the plot you want to edit, then click on it.
  3. Click 'Add' to the right of Owners.
  4. Begin typing the person’s name.
    • If the person already exists in Cemify, select them when their full name appears in the list.
    • If they do not exist yet, click '+ Create New Person' at the bottom of the list.
      • Fill in the new owner’s details in the window that appears.
  5. Click 'Save Ownership' when finished.

➕ Tip: You can edit an owner’s details later by opening their record from the People tab.

Frequently Asked Questions

❓- What if an owner has been added to Cemify more than once?

Occasionally, the same person may be added to Cemify multiple times, resulting in duplicate People records. This can cause ownership, notes, or other information to be split between separate contacts.


To resolve duplicate People records, you can either:

  1. Merge the duplicate records into a single People record (recommended).
  2. Manually move information (such as plot ownership) to one record and then delete the duplicate record.

  • How to Merge Duplicate People Records

Merging is the recommended approach because it preserves associated information and reduces the risk of losing data.

  1. Go to the People tab.
  2. Search for the duplicate person (for example, Jane Peterson).
  3. Check the boxes next to the duplicate records.
  4. Click Merge at the top of the list.
  5. Review the merge details and select which information should be retained.
  6. Click Merge People to complete the merge.

❗ Note: Before merging, review both records to ensure you are merging the correct people. Once merged, ownership, notes, burial records, and other associated information will be consolidated into a single People record. Merging contacts cannot be undone


  • How to Delete a Person Record

If you choose to manually move information to a different contact, you can delete the duplicate record once all necessary information has been transferred.

  1. Go to the People tab.
  2. Open the person's record.
  3. Click the Actions button below their name.
  4. Select Delete.
  5. A confirmation window will appear. Click OK to permanently delete the record.

❗ Note:  Before deleting a person's record, make sure any ownership, notes, or other information that should be retained has been moved to the correct contact. Deleting a contact cannot be undone

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