Understanding State and County Burial Programs

April 4, 2018 | by the National Care Planning Council

In all states if someone dies and the body is unclaimed, the county in which the body was discovered becomes responsible for interment. In most cases, this usually involves a cremation as the least expensive option.

Here are some examples of the frustration of what to do with people who die and have no means for burial.

• William R. Gardner recently kept an elderly woman's body at his funeral home in Portsmouth for more than a month. County coroners say it's not unusual to hold bodies that families don't claim because they cannot afford a funeral. She came from a nursing home with no money and no known family. After weeks of searching, one of Gardner's directors found a relative, but the person couldn't afford to, or didn't want to, pay to dispose of the remains.
• "We're talking to family members and friends who are at the end of their rope" in trying to find help to pay for a proper burial for a loved one, says Deputy County Clerk Barbara Fowler of Cumberland County, one of the poorest in New Jersey.
• In North Carolina, the state leaves the assistance to the counties, which pay only if the body is unclaimed; otherwise, the funeral home or crematory often must absorb the cost, said Paul Harris, executive director of the North Carolina Board of Funeral Service. Medicaid will often pick up the tab for Medicaid recipients, but many people will have around $2,000 remaining in a bank account from spend down to cover this. Temporary assistance for families in need will also typically pick up the tab.
• A baby girl was stillborn on April 18, 2009, at Sentara Leigh Hospital. The police investigated and an autopsy was done. A funeral home kept the body while the sheriff's office exhausted its options. In August, the baby's mother signed a release form saying she was unable to make final disposition arrangements for her daughter. The medical examiner's office said the remains were not suitable for scientific study in the State Anatomical Program. In September, a judge ordered that the body be properly disposed of in accordance with state law, at the city's expense. In a case like that, taxpayers pick up the tab.

State Programs in More Detail

Many states have formal programs that provide burial and even funerals under certain circumstances. With formal programs, more money than that used for an unclaimed body can be expended to provide a casket, a proper burial and maybe even a funeral for people with no other means.

Some of the more lucrative formal plans from states are coming under attack and getting funds reduced or eliminated because of the great recession and shrinking budgets. Kansas is one example where there was a state program but there is none now. West Virginia recently ran out of money for its program and the District of Columbia has suspended its program. Perhaps many more states are currently in the process of doing away with formal state or county programs. Here are states that apparently have no formal programs but the county is still responsible for unclaimed bodies.

1. Alabama (some counties may offer more than just burial for unclaimed bodies)
2. Hawaii
3. Idaho
4. Iowa
5. Kansas
6. Mississippi
7. Missouri
8. Montana
9. Nebraska (some counties may offer more than just burial for unclaimed bodies)
10. North Carolina (some counties may offer more than just burial for unclaimed bodies)
11. Oklahoma (some counties may offer more than just burial for unclaimed bodies)
12. Oregon
13. Rhode Island
14. South Carolina
15. Wyoming

Here are states that have more formal burial programs where some or all of their counties or major cities provide some benefits. Generally an indigent is considered someone in a nursing home under Medicaid, someone at or below 125% of poverty guidelines, someone receiving SSI or other similar guidelines. Some counties will pay regardless of indigent status. The family must prove inability to pay before the County will cover the cost. Some programs allow the family to keep a certain amount of money and the county will still cover the cost.

1. Arizona -- Maricopa county will provide burial and funeral for people meeting income and asset test
2. Arkansas -- Burial and cremation assistance covered by the probate judge in each county
3. California -- Indigents cremated at county expense
4. Florida -- Indigents cremated at county expense
5. Georgia -- Call the County Department of Family and Community Services Office
6. Kentucky -- Indigent burials covered in some counties, must go through a funeral home for initial screening
7. Louisiana -- Parishes when called upon by the proper authorities, will cover actual burial expenses of all poppers whose deaths have been caused by natural causes not to exceed the limits set by the state.
8. Minnesota -- County will pay for cremation or burial if cremation is against religious practice. Funeral is also covered. Family must be unable to pay. No income or asset test.
9. Nevada -- Primarily Clark County offers funding
10. New Hampshire -- State, city and town welfare departments all provide benefits for deceased residents who are indigent or whose families cannot pay for their funerals. Contact a local funeral home
11. New Jersey -- Upon determination by the county welfare board on investigation, the county will cover the cost of burial after all other funds have been exhausted.
12. New Mexico -- Will provide up to $200 for a funeral if other funds are not available
13. New York -- The city of New York has a generous plan for the five boroughs. Uncertain what is available for the rest of the state
14. North Dakota -- Counties may provide up to $1, 500 for indigent burial
15. South Dakota -- County commissioners will hire person to superintend burial of indigents and defray funeral expenses for relatives or friends who cannot cover the cost
16. Tennessee -- Not sure but the city of Nashville has a program
17. Texas -- Texas law provides that counties will assist the next of kin in obtaining burial where the decedent or next of kin are unable to afford burial that meets the financial requirements of the applicable county.
18. Utah -- Counties will provide
19. Virginia -- Not sure about Hampton roads cities have various programs for assistance
20. Washington -- The county will provide for the disposition of the remains through the Department of public assistance if the relatives are unable to cover the costs regardless of whether the relatives have been recipients of public assistance or not.

Here are the states that have formal programs. Some have strict asset and income test and others only require that the family not be able to cover the cost. Some programs allow the family to keep a certain amount of cash and the state will still cover its share of the cost.

1. Alaska -- The state has a limited assistant program for people with no money. Must contact the state emergency assistance department.
2. Colorado -- State burial assistance program paid through county Department of Social Services up to $2,500. Resources may be determining factor. Medicaid recipients can receive up to $1,500, individuals receiving state aid or SSI can get up to $1,000.
3. Connecticut -- Two laws govern people on state assistance and those who are considered indigent. The Department of Social Services will pay up to $1,800 for funeral and burial under the right conditions.
4. Delaware -- the state will pay up to $100 for certain eligible indigent individuals.
5. District of Columbia -- Up to $800 for funeral services or $450 for cremation
6. Illinois -- Program pays $1,103 for a funeral and $552 for burial reimbursed expenses for a large list of individuals under state and federal poverty programs. Payment is made if no other resources are available. Payment of $2,000 for a funeral and $2,000 for a burial for vendor claims submitted by a funeral home or cemetery.
7. Indiana -- Payment for individuals receiving temporary assistance for needy families and 100% of costs for individuals under Medicaid long term care.
8. Maine -- City of Portland will pay to a funeral director $785 for cremation, $1,125 for graveside service and $450 for grave liner. Paid only if no other resources are available
9. Maryland -- Paid for a long list of individuals receiving state or federal aid with total funeral expenses not to exceed $2,500 or an alternative $650 cash grant based on certain calculations. All other resources must be unavailable.
10. Massachusetts -- For 2011 the state budget has increased the maximum allowable limit to $1,500. All other resources must be exhausted.
11. Michigan -- Pays a complicated list of various burial, funeral and transportation services up to certain maximums.
12. Ohio -- State has a program
13. Pennsylvania -- State will pay up to $750.
14. Vermont -- Pays up to $665 for a simple burial or cremation for those who do not have the resources to pay and who are nursing home residents, Medicaid recipients or other state welfare recipients.
15. West Virginia -- reimburses up to $1,250
16. Wisconsin -- County programs. Milwaukee County will pay up to $1,500. The state will pay up to a combined total of $2,500.