OWNERSHIP DISPUTES

Last updated: May 7, 2026

Sometimes more than one person wants to manage a memorial for the same loved one. This page describes how we handle that.

Default rule: owner of record

A memorial has one signed-in owner of record. The owner is normally the person who created the memorial or who first claimed it through a verified email link. The owner of record can edit the memorial, subject to review for sensitive changes.

Visitors can light candles, leave tributes, and join reminders without becoming owners.

Requesting a change of ownership

If you believe you should be the owner of an existing memorial, or that the current owner is no longer the appropriate person, email support@vigilgarden.com with:

The URL of the memorial.
Your relationship to the person being remembered (for example: spouse, parent, child, sibling, named executor).
A short explanation of why you are requesting the change.
Any supporting documentation you are comfortable sharing (for example: an obituary, a death certificate, or a court order). You do not need to share originals; clear photographs are usually enough.

How we decide

Our goal is to keep memorials with people who genuinely want to honor the person being remembered. We are not a court and we cannot adjudicate family disputes. In general:

The owner of record is presumed to be the right owner unless there is clear evidence otherwise.
A named legal representative (executor, administrator, or similar) generally takes priority over other relatives.
Where two relatives both have a legitimate claim and disagree, we may temporarily hide the memorial while we work toward a resolution.
We may require a short sworn statement (a written declaration under penalty of perjury) before transferring ownership.

Our limits

We are not lawyers and we do not give legal advice. If a dispute turns on questions of estate law, parental rights, or court orders, we may decline to act and ask the parties to provide a court order before we change anything.

Removing a memorial

If a verified family member asks us to remove a memorial entirely, we will generally honor that request after a reasonable opportunity for the current owner to respond.

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