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Are Texas counties responsible for the burial of paupers? According to Section 694.002, Health and Safety Code, “The Commissioners Court of each county shall provide for the disposition of the body of a deceased pauper. The Commissioners Court may adopt rules to implement this section.”
If a county discovers cash in the possession of a deceased pauper, a county may use the cash to pay the actual costs incurred by the county in disposing of the pauper’s body.
If any cash remains after the county has paid the costs of disposing of the body, the county shall place the cash in trust. A person having a claim to the money in trust must exercise the right to collect the money not later than the first anniversary of the date of disposition of the pauper’s body.
A county may create a fund to be used by the county to pay the costs incurred in disposing of the bodies of deceased paupers and administering the county’s body disposition activities. If money placed in a trust is not claimed by the first anniversary of the date of disposition of the pauper’s body, the county may transfer the money to the fund created under this subsection.
Section 694.002, Health and Safety Code, does not mandate the method of disposition of the ashes of a cremated pauper, noted CJCAT Senior General Counsel Jim Allison. “The rules adopted by the Commissioners Court should specify the appropriate action,” Allison advised. “I recommend following the provisions of Section 711.002 and releasing the remains to any person in the priority list upon payment of the reasonable cost of the cremation.”
Under Section 711.002, Health and Safety Code, family members have the duty to provide for the interment of a relative. If the funeral home provides written notice and no family member claims the remains of a relative, the county where an inquest was ordered has the responsibility for the remains. If there was no inquest, the county where the death occurred has the responsibility to provide for the disposition of the body of the deceased pauper. The residency of a deceased pauper is not the determining factor of responsibility, Allison confirmed.
Section 696.003, Health and Safety Code, addresses the identification and transfer of unclaimed remains of a veteran after five years.
MAIN REFERENCE POINTS:
Section 694.002, Health and Safety Code
Section 711.002(e), Health and Safety Code
Attorney General Opinion JC-0228
Section 696.003, Health and Safety Code
