Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations
Chapter 49 - Public assistance and children and family services.
49.785 - Funeral expenses.

49.785 Funeral expenses.
(1) Except as provided in sub. (1m) and subject to s. 49.825, if any recipient specified in sub. (1c) dies and the estate of the deceased recipient is insufficient to pay the funeral, burial, and cemetery expenses of the deceased recipient, from the appropriation under s. 20.435 (4) (br) the department shall pay, to the person designated by the department, all of the following:
(a) The lesser of $1,000 or the cemetery expenses that are not paid by the estate of the deceased and other persons.
(b) The lesser of $1,500 or the funeral and burial expenses not paid by the estate of the deceased and other persons.
(1c) All of the following are eligible recipients under this section:
(a) A recipient of benefits under s. 49.148, 49.46, or 49.77, or under 42 USC 1381 to 1385 in effect on May 8, 1980.
(b) A recipient of benefits under s. 49.471 who is any of the following:
1. A pregnant woman or a child under 6 years of age with a family income not exceeding 185 percent of the poverty line at the time of death.
2. A child at least 6 years of age but less than 19 years of age with a family income not exceeding 100 percent of the poverty line at the time of death.
3. A parent or caretaker relative with a family income not exceeding 50 percent of the poverty line at the time of death.
(1m)
(a) If the total cemetery expenses for the recipient exceed $3,500, the department is not required to make a payment for the cemetery expenses under sub. (1) (a).
(b) If the total funeral and burial expenses for the recipient exceed $4,500, the department is not required to make a payment for funeral and burial expenses under sub. (1) (b).
(c) If a request for payment under sub. (1) is made more than 12 months after the death of the recipient, the department is not required to make a payment for cemetery, funeral, or burial expenses.
(d) If the recipient, or the recipient's spouse or another person, owns a life insurance policy insuring the recipient's life and the face value of the policy is more than $3,000, any amount that the department would be obligated to pay under sub. (1) shall be reduced by one dollar for every dollar by which the face value of the policy exceeds $3,000.
(1r) A funeral home, cemetery, or crematorium that receives payment under sub. (1) shall be exempt from paying any of the following fees:
(a) Fees for services rendered by a coroner or medical examiner.
(b) Fees assessed for the signing of a death record by a coroner or medical examiner.
(c) Fees assessed by a county related to transportation services.
(2) The department shall pursue recovery of any amounts paid under sub. (1) from the estate of the recipient and from the estate of any surviving spouse or former spouse of the recipient as provided in ss. 49.682 and 49.849.
History: 1973 c. 147, 333; 1975 c. 39, 224; 1979 c. 206; 1981 c. 20; 1985 a. 29, 176, 332; 1989 a. 31, 239; 1995 a. 27, 289; 1997 a. 27; 1999 a. 9; 2001 a. 16; 2003 a. 33 s. 1302; Stats. 2003 s. 49.785; 2005 a. 25; 2007 a. 20; 2009 a. 15, 393; 2011 a. 32, 260; 2013 a. 20; 2015 a. 55, 336; 2017 a. 334.
A cement grave liner will be considered a funeral and burial expense or a cemetery expense depending on who provides the liner; a liner provided by a funeral home constitutes a funeral and burial expense subject to the statutory payment limit. 79 Atty. Gen. 164.

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