Legal Services

	"Does the county always have to pay for transportation of a body if a JP ordered an autopsy? That seems like it could get expensive, or the county could be taken advantage of in some situations."

Is the county responsible for the cost associated with transporting a body from an autopsy ordered by a justice of the peace to its final destination?

The commissioners court is authorized to pay the cost of transporting a body to its final destination following an autopsy ordered by a justice of the peace only if the body is not claimed for burial or is to be buried at public expense. For more information, see our publication Cemeteries and Pauper Burial.