Do local governments really spend much time researching a deceased person's financial affairs? I'd think their legal options might be severely limited. There are also obvious time constraints.
An interesting fact: No one can be compelled to claim a body, not even the next-of-kin. Many people don't know that.
Another fact: My father was found dead in his home, they estimated about 3 days after he'd actually passed. A coroner took possession and performed an autopsy. Due to complicated circumstances at the time, I chose to disclaim his body. His remains were transferred to a funeral home of the city's choosing. The funeral director contacted me for instructions on the disposition. I chose cremation. Because he was a veteran, his remains were buried free of charge in a military cemetery about an hour from my home. Throughout most of the process, arrangements were handled via phone/mail/fax, and rather quickly. Too quickly for the city of his residence to have taken the time to find out whether or not he was truly indigent. No one even asked or seemed to care.
Afterwards, I got paperwork from the funeral director. He wanted me to sign, certifying that he'd performed certain services, which in all honesty, I really couldn't, not the way it was written on the form. He claimed he needed my signature to get paid by the city. I called the city and was told in no uncertain terms not to sign the paperwork because the funeral director was trying to commit fraud. The city had paid him upfront for his services and the funeral director was trying to double-dip. In fact, they had recently decided not to renew their contract with him and he knew that and was quite upset about it. When I called the funeral director to tell him I'd been instructed not to sign the paperwork because he'd already been paid, he swore at me and hung up. Never heard from him again.
I'm not trying to be argumentative here, but when I see misinformation (bolded above) that is being presented as an absolute, I feel the need to speak up.