§ 2-09 Application for Financial Assistance for Burial Expenses for Certain Veterans.
RCNY § 2-09
Notwithstanding any other provision of law or regulation to the contrary, where a discharged member of the armed forces of the United States, other than a member of the armed forces who was dishonorably discharged, and the discharge status of the decedent has been confirmed with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, dies in the city of New York without leaving sufficient means to defray his or her funeral expenses and dies without a friend or relative to act as an applicant for the purpose of seeking assistance for burial expenses from the Human Resources Administration.
(a)A veteran's organization may act as an organizational friend for purposes of applying for burial expenses if such veteran's organization has been qualified as an organizational friend by the Human Resources Administration. Approval of such organization as an organizational friend is based on the organization's satisfactorily meeting the following criteria: (i) The organization's history and purpose, as demonstrated by its articles of organization, are charitable and/or religious in nature; (ii) Part of the organization's function is to bury indigent veterans; (iii) The organization's principal place of business is in New York City; (iv) The organization is non-profit and tax-exempt pursuant to § 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(19) of the United States Revenue Code; (v) No board member or officer of the organization is a funeral home director with which the organization does business; (vi) A substantial amount of the organization's funding for burial purposes comes from private sources; (vii) Annually, the organization makes its books and records available to the Human Resources Administration for inspection, review and audit, if necessary.
(b)The Burial Claims Unit may authorize payment of a sum of up to $900 toward burial costs, including the cost of transporting the remains of the veteran to the Calverton National Cemetery.
(i)No payments shall be authorized if the burial expenses, exclusive of the costs of cremation or the burial plot and the grave opening, exceed $1,700.
(ii)No payments shall be authorized if the veteran is to be buried in a private cemetery other than in the Calverton National Cemetery.
(iii)The value of any resources or income which were available to the deceased shall be deducted from the $900 burial allowance in determining the amount the applicant shall receive.
