More Bodies Go Unclaimed in Los Angeles County as Families Can't Afford Funeral Costs

I came across a very disturbing article on the Los Angeles Times website and I had never even given prior thought to the implications. The economic quagmire has taken a toll, even on the dead. Apparently there is an increasing number of bodies in Los Angeles County going unclaimed by families who cannot afford to bury or cremate their loved ones. The county coroner's office, which handles homicides and other suspicious deaths, said 36% more cremations were done at taxpayers' expense in the last fiscal year over the previous year, from 525 to 712. According to the LA Times, the county morgue, which is responsible for the indigent and others who go unclaimed, saw a 25% increase in cremations in the first half of this year over the same period a year ago, rising to 680 from 545. Wow. That is pretty staggering, considering the financial nightmare the state of California is experiencing at this very time. This may be the same reality in other cities across the country -- people are flat broke and just cannot pay funeral costs. That's terrible.

The demands on the county crematorium have been so high that earlier this year, officials there stopped accepting bodies from the coroner. The coroner's office since has contracted with two private crematories for $135,000 to handle the overflow. Once the county cremates an unclaimed body -- typically about a month after death -- next of kin can pay the coroner $352 to receive the ashes. The fee for claiming ashes from the morgue is $466.

Coroners and funeral directors around the country say they are seeing the same trend as cash-strapped families cope with funeral costs. Just claiming a body from the L.A. County coroner costs $200. Once a body is claimed, private cremations usually run close to $1,000, Smith said. Funeral homes charge an average of $7,300 to transport and bury a body in a simple grave, according to the National Funeral Home Directors Assn.

For the dead left to the county, officials attempt to recover cremation costs from the estates. But the county does not require relatives to prove they are too poor to pay. Smith said his office, with a staff of four, cannot investigate. The morgue is similarly strapped. If records later show a family could have paid to claim a body, by law the county can recover the cost.

Other counties investigate families' ability to pay. San Mateo County Coroner Robert Foucrault, first vice president of the California State Coroners' Assn., said his office recently began requiring applicants for county-funded cremations to submit a three-page application listing bank accounts, property or other assets. Source: LA Times

This is pretty dire and speaks volumes to the financial health of this country. If you can't make ends meet, then you certainly cannot prepare for funeral costs for your loved ones. There are so many people out there who do not have life insurance policies or have made any preparations to be buried once they expire. This is the reality we are living in and it is dire on so many levels.