CT HB06480

State pays $1,800 toward funeral expenses for veterans who die without sufficient estate, as determined by the commissioner in consultation with the probate court.

Burial must occur in a cemetery or plot not used exclusively for pauper dead, and the same $1,800 amount applies whether the veteran is buried or cremated.

Claims for funeral expense reimbursement must be filed within one year of death, or within one year after remains are interred in the country for deaths occurring abroad.

Comptroller pays the $1,800 to the person who paid funeral expenses or, upon assignment, to the funeral director who provided services, with satisfactory proof of death and burial.

"Funeral expenses" includes funeral director cash advances, funeral services and merchandise (caskets, urns, vaults, containers), burial or cremation costs, and obituary publication; state may recover payments from the veteran's estate as a preferred claim.