Family upset over burial plot arrangement

HOUSTON When a loved one dies, families are under so much stress that important details can go unattended. One such detail is now a cause of concern for a Houston family.

When Libby Bryant's 15-year-old daughter died in December, Bryant decided to purchase not just one burial plot, but four. That's enough for the entire family to eventually be interred together. Bryant says at the time of the sale she was under the impression the family plot would shaped like a square.

"I thought it was either going to be four in a row, or two and two," said Libby Bryant.

She says after the headstone foundation was laid, she found out the burial plot shape looks more like an "L". Because of the shape, the Bryant family headstone will be several feet away from her daughters final resting place. To make matters worse, there will be two complete strangers buried at the feet of Bryant's family members.

"You got two other people buried in my family plot, so my headstone is going to serve six people instead of four," Bryant said.

While we were speaking with her, a manager from the funeral home walked up. He explained the Bryant family headstone would only have the names of the bByant family members on it, but admitted the family's burial plot is in fact L-shaped.

It turns out the funeral has a document signed by the Bryants that shows the plot shape. It's a document Bryant does not remember signing when she was taking care of the funeral arrangements.

"No one wants to go through something like that and your mind is not focused," said Bryant.

She says the funeral home offered her a discounted footstone for her daughter's grave, but after speaking with the family, officials say they may be able to provide one free of charge.

"We are going to try to do what we can to please her, that's why we are here. As far the misunderstanding, I can't say. I am sorry it happened," said Robert Alridge of Paradise Funeral Home.

This is one of those details you need to know about before buying a family plot. Make certain to find out the exact shape of the plot so you will not have problems after a loved one is buried.

It's not necessarily common for cemeteries to have L-shaped plots, but it does happen. So it is very important to be certain of the plot shape.