Funeral costs assumption
The burial obligation results from § 8 of the Lower Saxony Law on Mortuary, Funeral and Cemeteries (BestattG).
The burial of the deceased person shall be carried out in the following order of precedence:
- the spouse or registered partner,
- the children,
- the grandchildren,
- the parents,
- the grandparents
- and the siblings
If, during the lifetime of the deceased, it was contractually stipulated who is to provide for the funeral, this person must provide for the funeral regardless of the public burial obligation of § 8 (3) BestattG.
If the persons obliged to bear the funeral costs cannot reasonably be expected to bear the necessary costs, they may apply for the funeral costs to be covered.
An application must be submitted for the assumption of funeral costs.
The responsibility lies with the district, the independent city and the Hanover region in which the person died. If the deceased person has received social assistance, the district, the district-free city and the Hanover region in which the benefits were granted must be taken into account.
- The inquiring person is obliged to bear the funeral costs.
- The person obliged to bear the funeral costs cannot be expected financially to bear the costs from his own resources.
- Only the costs of the funeral required in individual cases will be covered.
Documents may be required. Please contact the competent authority.
There are no fees.
There are no deadlines to be observed. However, it is advisable to clarify the question of the assumption of costs with the competent authority in good time. The later an application is filed after the obligation to bear the costs has occurred, the more doubts may arise as to the reasonableness of bearing the costs.
§ 74 SGB XII guarantees an appropriate and dignified burial of the deceased. The "necessary costs" are covered. The yardstick for this is what is customary in the local area as funeral costs in the above-mentioned sense, oriented towards the recipients of lower or middle incomes.
Lower Saxony Ministry of Social Affairs, Health and Equality
The text was automatically translated based on the German content.
