Who is responsible for a burial and for burial costs?
Who pays for a funeral? What help is available to pay for funeral costs?
Answer
Public Health Law § 4200 Cadavers; duty of burial requires that the bodies of deceased person be decently buried or incinerated within a reasonable time after death. Social Services Law § 141 Burial of the dead states who is required to pay for a burial according to Social Services Law § 101 Liability of relatives to support. Surrogate's Court Procedure Act 1811 (1) states [T]he reasonable funeral expenses of the decedent subject to the payment of expenses of administration shall be preferred to all debts and claims against his estate and shall be paid out of the first moneys received by his fiduciary.
Links & Files
- Burial Assistance -- NYC Human Resources Administration
- Bureau of Funeral Directing -- NYS Dept of Health
- Burial Unit -- Erie County Dept of Social Services
- Indigent Burial Reimbursements -- New York State Division of Veterans' Services
- New York State Senate Consolidated Laws of New York
- Program Assistance with Burials -- Madison County
- What debts need to be paid after a death?
- Who has the right to decide upon the burial of a family member?