New Jersey Bill Tackles Unclaimed Remains of Veterans

New Jersey lawmakers have introduced new legislation designed to ensure that every veteran in the state receives dignified, proper interment — even when their cremated remains go unclaimed. The bill, S-3022/A-1131, recently advanced through the Senate Military and Veterans’ Affairs Committee with bipartisan support. 

Automated notifications signal status

Sponsored by Senator Robert Singer, the measure would require the state’s death-registration system to notify the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs (DMVA) whenever the cremains of a veteran, or of a veteran’s spouse or dependent, are generated. If the remains are still unclaimed after one year, the DMVA would be empowered to work with funeral homes or qualifying veterans’ organizations to arrange respectful burial in one of the state’s veterans’ cemeteries or another appropriate resting place.

“Every veteran deserves the dignity of a proper burial,” said Singer as he introduced the bill. “By modernizing how we identify and track unclaimed ashes, we’re creating a compassionate process to ensure every veteran is laid to rest with honor.”

New solution to an old problem

The bill is a direct response to a growing, but not new nor ignored, issue in deathcare — the accumulation of unclaimed cremains, including those belonging to veterans, which may sit on funeral home shelves for years.

Deathcare professionals have long struggled with the various dilemmas — ethical, legal, financial, and logistical — entangled with the issue of unclaimed cremains. Legal options may or may not be dictated by state or local laws, and disposition efforts are sometimes aided by charitable organizations, especially in the case of veterans. But in many cases, funeral directors are left with no easy answers as to what to do when no one comes forward to claim the remains. A clear pathway like the one New Jersey’s proposal ensures that veterans’ remains are not forgotten while relieving funeral establishments of legal uncertainty. 

Dignity for those who served

For most Americans, the thought of veterans’ cremains sitting on shelves instead of being laid to rest is both troubling and deeply contrary to the commitment owed to those who served. New Jersey’s action also reflects a growing national movement to strengthen burial rights and support for veterans. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs expanded burial benefits under the Dole Act, allowing veterans who die at home under hospice care after discharge from VA medical facilities to qualify for full VA burial allowances. 

In Congress, lawmakers have also renewed focus on veterans’ final arrangements. Senator Andy Kim of New Jersey and Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman recently reintroduced the Protecting Our Veterans’ Memories Act, which aims to ease funeral costs and broaden burial rights for veterans’ spouses and dependents in state-run veterans’ cemeteries. Additionally, the Ensuring Veterans’ Final Resting Place Act (H.R. 647), introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, seeks to reinforce that choosing cremation — including the use of an urn or commemorative plaque — should not diminish a veteran’s eligibility for burial benefits or interment in national cemeteries.

Deathcare has responsibility, but not liability

Although the New Jersey bill would automate notification of a veteran’s cremation through the existing death registration system, it would still be up to the funeral home to notify the DMVA that the remains are unclaimed after a year. The bill also relies on directors to have made “diligent efforts” to reach the veteran’s next of kin during the preceding year before handing over the cremains to a “qualified veterans organization for disposition. According to the text of the bill, that disposition can be either scattering at sea or interment “in a dignified manner at the state-operated Brigadier General William C. Doyle Memorial Cemetery, if the individual is eligible for interment at that facility.”

Thankfully, the bill includes language to protect deathcare professionals from liability “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.”