New Jersey Statutes 26:7-18.2. Disposition of unclaimed cremains
Terms Used In New Jersey Statutes 26:7-18.2
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
- person: includes corporations, companies, associations, societies, firms, partnerships and joint stock companies as well as individuals, unless restricted by the context to an individual as distinguished from a corporate entity or specifically restricted to one or some of the above enumerated synonyms and, when used to designate the owner of property which may be the subject of an offense, includes this State, the United States, any other State of the United States as defined infra and any foreign country or government lawfully owning or possessing property within this State. See New Jersey Statutes 1:1-2
As used in this section, “cremains” means that substance which remains after the cremation of a dead human body.
b. A funeral director, licensed pursuant to P.L.1952, c.340 (C. 45:7-32 et seq.), shall grant a qualified veterans’ organization the right to receive the cremains of a veteran, or the cremains of an eligible spouse or eligible dependent of a veteran, which have not been claimed by a relative or friend of the deceased within one year after cremation upon certification, to the commissioner’s satisfaction, that a diligent effort, as defined in subsection a. of this section, has been made to identify, locate and notify a relative or friend of the deceased within that one-year period.
A qualified veterans’ organization which takes possession of cremains pursuant to this section shall dispose of the cremains by scattering them at sea or by interring them on land in a dignified manner at the State-operated, Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery, a State-operated veterans’ memorial cemetery, a national veterans’ memorial cemetery, or a local veterans’ memorial cemetery, if the individual is eligible for interment at those facilities.
As used in this section, “qualified veterans’ organization” means a veterans’ organization that qualifies as a section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(19) tax exempt organization under the Internal Revenue Code, or a federally chartered Veterans’ Service Organization.
c. A funeral home or mortuary, or an agent of the funeral home or mortuary, or a funeral director, or qualified veterans’ organization, shall not be liable for damages in any civil action arising out of the disposal of cremains pursuant to this section unless the damages are the result of gross negligence or willful misconduct.
L.1983, c.385, s.2; amended 2009, c.14, s.1; 2021, c.37, s.1.