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County to seek law change allowing disposal of unclaimed cremated remains and low-value property
Summary
Sedgwick County legal staff will ask the legislature to codify authority for the district coroner to dispose of unclaimed cremated remains and minor personal property after a reasonable retention period, resolving a statutory gap left when the county moved from burials to cremation in 2012.
Legal staff explained the county lacks clear statutory authority to dispose of unclaimed cremated remains and low-value personal property received with those remains. The county moved to cremation of unclaimed remains in 2012 and, according to the legal analysis, the current statute is vague and requires indefinite custody of those remains and property.
Rusty said attorneys prepared draft language for the legislature that would borrow procedures from mortuary statutes to allow the district coroner to manage final disposition after a reasonable period and to dispose of insignificant personal property. He said Johnson County and another jurisdiction reviewed the approach and expressed no concerns. Commissioners indicated support to include the language in bill-ready materials for the session.
