California · Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County is home to about 1,926,325 people. Everything below applies county-wide.
If you cannot afford burial or cremation in Santa Clara County, call the County of Santa Clara Office of the Medical Examiner-Coroner first, before signing anything with a funeral home. If the person was a veteran, free burial benefits may cover even more.
Step 1 of 5 · If money is tight
Do not sign anything with a funeral home before you call. In many counties, signing first disqualifies the family.
Santa Clara County program
Read this before you call
Only the legal next of kin can complete and submit the Indigent Cremation paperwork. Nobody else can file it for you. Until the county approves it, California Health and Safety Code sections 7103 and 7104 keep the legal next of kin financially responsible for the disposition.
County of Santa Clara Office of the Medical Examiner-Coroner
Official program pageFor a deceased person with no estate and no family, and therefore no money to handle disposition, and also for families who have no resources of their own to pay for the disposition. If the legal next of kin does not inter the remains, the Medical Examiner-Coroner proceeds with Indigent Cremation after thirty days.
The county cremates at county expense and scatters the ashes in a compassionate manner. Ashes are not returned to the family under this program.
Fill out the Indigent Cremation paperwork and mail it or bring it in person to the Medical Examiner-Coroner's Office. Only the legal next of kin can submit it.
Typical timeline: The investigation generally takes thirty days from receipt of the paperwork.
Step 2 of 5 · If they served
This can replace the county program
You may be able to skip the county program entirely. Veterans can receive a free gravesite, headstone, and perpetual care at a national or state veterans cemetery, plus a VA burial allowance of up to $2,000 for service-connected deaths.
Veteran burial help in Santa Clara CountyFrom our free tools
Housing costs weighing on the family too?
Check what housing assistance the household may qualify for, including Section 8 vouchers, in a few minutes. Free, no signup.
Check housing help at CheckMyVoucher.comStep 4 of 5 · The paperwork
Where copies come from
Certified copies come from the California Department of Public Health, Vital Records (CDPH-VR), or the county recorder in the county where the death occurred (official site). You can order from the county where the death happened or from CDPH Vital Records. The county is usually faster, but it can only issue records for deaths that occurred there, while CDPH can issue for anywhere in California. California has two versions and the difference matters: an authorized certified copy can be used to settle affairs, while a certified informational copy is stamped "INFORMATIONAL, NOT A VALID DOCUMENT TO ESTABLISH IDENTITY" and will be refused by banks and insurers. To get the authorized copy you must include a notarized sworn statement that you are entitled to it. Ask for the authorized copy.
Order about 10 certified copies. Banks, insurers, Social Security, vehicles, and property will each want one.
Know your rights
Federal law (the FTC Funeral Rule) protects you. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.
Full rules: the FTC Funeral Rule. If a funeral home breaks them, you can report it to the FTC.
Step 5 of 5 · If you need more
Where families find the rest
Right now
Nothing else on this page matters until these are done. Everything not on this list can wait, and most of it should.
Local sponsor
Own a funeral home or cremation service in Santa Clara County? This page has one exclusive sponsor spot, reserved at the founding rate of $499 per month.
Sponsor Santa Clara CountyQuestions families ask
Santa Clara County's assistance program (Santa Clara County Indigent Cremation) can cover a basic burial or cremation for families who qualify. Call the administering office before signing anything with a funeral home.
Yes. An eligible surviving spouse or child can claim a one-time $255 lump-sum death payment by calling 1-800-772-1213, and monthly survivor benefits are often available too.
Veterans may qualify for free burial in a national or state veterans cemetery plus a VA burial allowance, which can matter more than any county program. See our Santa Clara County veteran page for details.
Most families need about 10 certified copies for banks, insurance, and property. In California, order through the funeral home or the state vital records office.
A traditional funeral with burial commonly runs $7,000 to $12,000. Direct cremation is usually the lowest-cost professional option, often $700 to $2,000, and prices vary widely between providers in the same area, so it pays to call two or three. Every funeral home must give you prices over the phone under the FTC Funeral Rule.
No, and this surprises almost everyone: a power of attorney ends the moment the person dies. After death, authority passes to the executor named in the will, or to a court-appointed administrator when there is no will. Funeral decisions belong to the next of kin in the order set by state law, usually spouse first, then adult children, then parents, then siblings.
For after-death decisions, no. Power of attorney only matters while someone is alive. The next of kin can make funeral decisions right away, and the estate is handled through the will or, without one, through the state's simple next-of-kin rules. See our guide on what happens when there is no will.
Legal help sponsor
Estate or probate attorney serving Santa Clara County? Families here are one week from probate questions. One exclusive spot, founding rate $499 per month.
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Step 3 of 5 · Money owed to you
The Social Security $255 payment
Who can claim it
A surviving spouse who was living with the person who died, or a spouse or child eligible for benefits on the deceased person's record.
Call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 or visit a local office. You must apply within 2 years of the death. The funeral home often reports the death to SSA, but the survivor must apply for the payment.
Full guide: the $255 death payment, explained