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The Kitchen Table

Okay I have a question- A Person dies and

15 years ago

the family cannot pay for the burial,cremation,etc....

What happens to the body?

I looked on google but I can't get a straight answer. I know I am just not plugging in the right combo of words.Anything I google comes up with religious things about where you "go" That is not what I am talking about....

A very distant family member had a death in the family but she spent all the money there was to bury the man. The body is at the funeral home and she is taking "donations" to bury him. They were giving her until today and then ???

What will they do with the body? Some people told me there is a holding area with a freezer to keep the body for _______ long and then the State would bury the body after so many days, months,etc. This sounds a little far fetched to me but then again ?

What will happen to the body? I've never thought about this and I am curious....

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Comments (6)

caroline1947
15 years ago
My step father was a doctor,,,he said they received cadavers for medical school that were often un claimed or the person couldnt pay and they became state custody....but that was some time ago so I dont know about now....
jayokie
15 years ago
If you're not in the same town, call one of the local funeral homes & ask if they have a few minutes to answer a question that's been bothering you. No need for details...just tell them it's something that has come up in conversation recently & it's bugging you. If in the same town, maybe call a FH other than the one the relative is using or in a neighboring town.

They may tell you about pre-planning, etc...just tell them you're aware of that service & will keep them in mind. Maybe you'd NEVER use them, but you can still 'keep them in mind' (one in our town I don't want anywhere near me even if I am deceased!) Just thank them politely for answering your questions, etc.(I'm sure you will)

Now I'm curious :-) but not enough (yet)to make a call.
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share_oh
15 years ago
Try looking up "indigent". I work for a city that owns several cemeteries. We get a few calls a year about indigent cases.

In my experience, the coroner's office will do their best to track down any relatives. If they find any but no one will claim the body, or if they don't find any, within a certain period of time they will have the body cremated.

Since this person is already at the funeral home I'm not sure what will happen. I find it hard to believe a funeral home would've picked up a body without a relative to give them the details on what was going to be done. Just in picking up a body there are costs involved in transportation and the container to put them in. If your relative just planned to get donations for the burial she must not've told the funeral home that. They are, after all, in the business to make money.
dances_in_garden
15 years ago
Here is you die with no money or estate or in arrears, the city (or some facet of the government) will dispose of the body. Either a burial in an unmarked grave (in a carboard coffin, and I am not kidding) or a very low cost cremation. I believe somebody can take custody of the ashes in that case at no cost.

No funeral or anything, mind you.
janie_ga
15 years ago
The state will pay for a pauper burial. You get a cloth casket and a plot in a specific section of a cemetery. No visitation and only a gravesite service- if that. In WV, the family can sign a piece of paper stating they do not have the money to pay for a burial- the state doesn't investigate the legitimacy of the claim. The family is still responsible for half but it is much less. For the state to help, the family must accept the state's rules of the cloth casket, no visitation, no service, etc. They cannot agree to pay the difference between a fancier funeral and what the state would pay, make sense?

I am not sure about the rules in GA- Eric wasn't involved in as many there as he has been here.

In GA if a child under 18 dies, the funeral home/crematory will usually offer free cremation. Don't think that is offered in WV.
Vickey__MN
15 years ago
I know, I know...just went through this with my Grandma (In August)...go to the county social services and see what they can pay. Often they will pay for the cheapest coffin and a plot, no headstone I think, minimum visitation. Total of $2,500 here in MN. IF you want an upgrade at all, they figure you have money, and you no longer qualify!

Vickey-MN

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