Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
A resident of north dakota is notified by a california coroner that he must claim a deceased adult relatives body..or else have law suit filed for cremation, etc....nothing has been ever signed regarding this......is this just an idle threat?? thank you
2 Answers from Attorneys
The person in North Dakota has no legal obligation to pay for burial expenses. If that person is the beneficiary of the estate of the California deceased person, the city, county or state can seek reimbursement from the estate, if one exists.
Mr. Goff is right, there is no duty to pay, but the deceased estate has to/should have paid the expenses before any distribution. So if the person in ND got anything out of the estate, then they might have to pay the bill up to the amount they got out of the estate.