What is endowment care?

1 min read - Last updated August 2026

Direct answer

Endowment care is a fund attached to many burial plots that pays for the cemetery's permanent upkeep - mowing, roads, and general grounds. A portion of the plot price goes into it when the plot is first sold. It covers the grounds, not your marker, and it does not transfer as cash when a plot is resold.

Where the money goes

When a cemetery first sells a plot, part of the price goes into an endowment care fund. The cemetery spends the income from that fund on permanent upkeep of the grounds.

What buyers of resale plots should know

When you buy a resale plot, the endowment care arrangement comes with it - you do not pay into the fund again, and the seller does not take anything out of it. If a seller claims you owe them endowment care fees, check with the cemetery office.

Endowment care is separate from any transfer fee the cemetery charges to record the sale - one pays for permanent upkeep, the other pays for updating the deed.

Common questions

Does endowment care transfer when a plot is resold?

The coverage stays with the plot, not the owner, so the buyer keeps the same grounds maintenance the seller had. No money changes hands - the fund itself belongs to the cemetery.

Does endowment care cover my headstone?

Usually not. It covers the grounds - grass, roads, shared areas. Damage to a private marker is typically the owner's responsibility unless the cemetery caused it.

Is endowment care the same as perpetual care?

The terms are often used for the same idea: a fund for the cemetery's permanent upkeep. The name in your deed is the one that matters - read what it actually covers.