Senate Bill No. 251
(By Senator Schoonover)
____________
[Introduced January 29, 1996; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance
.]
____________
A BILL to amend and reenact section nine, article five, chapter
nine of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, relating to human services; and
increasing the amount of burial expenses the bureau of human
resources can obtain from the relatives of a deceased
indigent person.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section nine, article five, chapter nine of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.
ยง9-5-9. Liability of relatives for support.
The relatives of an indigent person, who are of sufficient
ability, shall be liable to support such person in the manner
required by the department of welfare bureau of human resources
and to pay the expenses of burial, not to exceed one thousand
dollars, when he the indigent dies, in the following order:
(1) The children.
(2) The father.
(3) The brothers and sisters.
(4) The mother.
The commissioner may proceed by motion in the circuit court
of the county in which the indigent person may be is located,
against one or more of the relatives liable.
If a relative so liable does not reside in this state and
has no estate or debts due him within the state by means of which
the liability can be enforced, against him the other relatives
shall be liable as provided by this section, but a relative shall
not no relative may be compelled to receive the indigent person
in his or her own home.
If it appears that a relative liable for the support of an
indigent person is unable wholly to support him the indigent but
is able to contribute toward his such support, the court may assess upon the relative the proportion which he the relative
shall be required to contribute either to the past expense
incurred by the department of welfare bureau of human resources
or to the future support. The court may assess the residue upon
the relatives in the order of their liability.
Payment with interest and costs may be enforced by
execution.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to increase from $400.00
to $1,000.00 the amount of burial expenses that the bureau of
human resources can obtain from the relatives of a deceased
indigent person. All other corrections are intended only to
update terms.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.