CBS2 Steps In After Cemetery Refuses To Bury Woman Over Surprise Back Fees

HACKENSACK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Imagine losing a loved one, and then being told by the cemetery that they won't be buried unless you pay up on back fees that might not even exist.

As Christine Sloan reported Wednesday, it is what a family was facing in Bergen County until CBS2 and the Archdiocese of Newark got involved.

Teresa Racich lived a full life, throwing birthday bashes for herself every year, until she died Saturday at the age of 97.

She told her niece, Lind Salvucci, that she had planned her own funeral and all the costs were covered.

"She was driving until she was 90," Salvucci said. "One of the things that she actually really did pride herself in was paying her bills on time."

Salvucci said her aunt paid for a plot in fully at St. Joseph Cemetery in Hackensack, New Jersey in 1966 to be buried near her husband, mother and father. Salvucci had the deed to prove it.

But the cemetery claimed otherwise.

"I got a call Monday morning from the funeral director, telling us that the cemetery would not allow us to bury my aunt Friday, which is what is scheduled," she said.

Salvucci said Holy Trinity Church, the owner of the cemetery, said her aunt owes more than $2,000 in back annual care fees – instituted in 1974 after she bought the plot.

The church said notices were sent out every year, but so far has not produced evidence that any bills were sent out.

"And I can attest that from 2010 to 2013, there was no bill from the cemetery involving annual care fees," she said.

CBS2 went by the cemetery office, and it was closed. So CBS2 then reached out to the Newark Archdiocese, which oversees the parish, but does not own the cemetery.

An archdiocese representative called it all a misunderstanding, and assured CBS2 that Racich will be buried in the cemetery Friday.

The archdiocese representative added: "The church and family need to have the time and space to look into things. But the time of death certainly isn't that time."

Salvucci was thankful that her aunt can now rest in peace.

The archdiocese said to prevent situations like this from happening, people should have full discussions with older loved ones about their burial arrangements – what is in place and what needs to be done.