Could a South Carolina county bury an unclaimed body in another county at county expense?

Plain-English summary

In 2010, Richland County's coroner asked whether an unclaimed body whose disposition the county paid for had to be buried in that county's cemetery. The South Carolina AG found no statute requiring burial within the paying county. It said the coroner could release the remains for burial in another county, while warning that “there does not appear to be an absolute answer” and recommending legislative clarification.

The opinion relied partly on an earlier AG opinion treating county payment for the disposition of indigent persons' remains as a public purpose. Its conclusion dealt with the location of burial for an unclaimed body, not who was lawfully entitled to claim one.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2010. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later
AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current
legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy
mentioned here.

Common questions

Did the county have to use its own cemetery?
A: The AG found no statutory prohibition on out-of-county burial and said the coroner could release unclaimed remains for burial elsewhere when the county paid disposition expenses.

Did paying for burial change the public purpose of the expenditure? A: The opinion cited earlier AG analysis that disposition of indigent persons' bodies served a public purpose and that choosing burial or cremation did not change that purpose.

Was this a settled statutory rule?
A: The AG expressly said there was no absolute answer in the law it reviewed and asked for legislative clarification to remove ambiguity.

Background and statutory framework

The coroner quoted the statute governing release of bodies after examination and the disposition of unclaimed or unidentified remains. He asked whether the body could be buried outside the county that paid the expense. The AG distinguished the absence of a burial-location prohibition from the separate statutory duties about examination, identifying bodies, and paying expenses.

Citations and references

The opinion discussed South Carolina Code section 17-5-570 and a June 25, 2001 AG opinion on county expenditures for indigent burial.

Official title

November 9, 2010

Requester

S.C. Code Ann. § 17-5-570.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.scag.gov/opinions/opinions-archive/november-9-2010/
• Original PDF: https://www.scag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/watts-g-os-9158-11-9-10-release-burial-of-dead-bodies1.pdf

Original opinion text

HENRY M CMASTER
ATIORNEY G ENERAL

November 9, 2010

The Honorable Gary Watts
Coroner, Richland County
P. 0. Box 192
Columbia, South Carolina 29202
Dear Coroner Watts:

In a letter to this office you referenced S.C. Code Ann. § 17-5-570 which states: (A) [a]fter the post-mortem examination, autopsy, or inquest has been completed, the dead body must be released to the person lawfully entitled to it for burial. If no person claims the body, the coroner or medical examiner must notify the board created pursuant to Section 44-43-510. If the board does not accept the body, the body must be turned over to the coroner of the county where death occurred for disposition as provided by law. If the deceased has an estate out of which burial expenses can be paid either in whole or in part. the estate must be taken for that purpose before an expense under this section is imposed upon a county.

(B) If the body cannot be identified through reasonable efforts, the coroner must forward the body to the Medical University of South Carolina or other suitable facility for preservation. Ifthe body remains unidentifie-d thirty days after the coroner forwarded the body, the Medical University of South Carolina or other facility preserving the body must immediately notify the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED). Ifthe body has not been identified within thirty days after SLED has entered the unidentified person's DNA profile into the Combined DNA Indexing System pursuant to Section 23-3-635, the Medical University may retain possession of the body for its use and benefit or return the body to the coroner of the county where death occurred for disposition as provided by law. A facility other than the Medical University utilized by the coroner for storage of an unidentified body may dispose of

REMBERT c. DENNIS BulLDINO • Posr OFFICE Box Ll549 • COLUMBIA, SC 29211 -l549 • Tul..EPHONE 803-734-3970 • FACSIMlLE 803-253-6283

The Honorable Gary Watts
Page2
November 9, 2010

the body as provided by law or return the body to the coroner of the county where death occurred for disposition. (C) If an unidentified body is preserved at the Medical University, the county is responsible for transporting the body to and from the Medical University; however, the county is not responsible for the cost of preserving the body at the Medical University. If an unidentified body is preserved at the Medical University, the Medical University must absorb the cost of preserving the body for not less than thirty days. As to such statute, you have stated as follows:
.. .if a body is unclaimed, it is turned over to the coroner of the county for disposition and said county pays the expenses for such disposition. I am requesting an opinion as to whether the coroner of the county can release the remains to be buried in another county or must the burial be done in the county cemetery within the county that paid the expenses. A prior opinion of this office dated June 25, 2001 stated that as to the question of whether a county can legally appropriate money for funeral expenses of indigent deceased persons when the family of the deceased will not pay the expenses, it was concluded that
[c]ounty governments are authorized to appropriate and expend public funds for services and property which serve a public purpose. S.C. Code Ann. §4-9-30. The disposal of the bodies ofindigent individuals is clearly such a public purpose. In fact, this Office has previously opined that "the General Assembly has recognized the responsibility of disposing of [such] bodies at public expense." See Op. Atty. Gen. dated September 28, 1995. The method chosen by the county for disposal, i.e. cremation or burial, does not alter the public purpose of the expenditure. Therefore, it is my opinion that, the Sumter County Council can give the families/funeral homes an alternative by accepting $300 from the county towards the burial of [an indigent] loved one. Referencing the above, there does not appear to be an absolute answer to your question as set forth. In the absence of any statutory prohibition, in the opinion of this office, if a body is unclaimed and it is turned over to the coroner of the county for disposition with the county paying the expenses for such disposition, the coroner of the county can release the remains to be buried in another county. However, to avoid any ambiguity, legislative clarification should be sought which would deal specifically with such situation.

The Honorable Gary Watts
Page 3
November 9, 2010

With kind regards, I am,
Very truly yours,
Henry McMaster
Attorney General

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By:

REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY:

Charles H. Richardson
Senior Assistant Attorney General