Latest sign of hardship: Families unable to bury loved ones

The economic downturn has left many families across the nation unable to afford burials.

As funeral costs rise and the economy continues to founder, many communities are seeing a rise in unclaimed bodies and funerals for indigent people.

The trend has been seen "everywhere," says Jacqueline Byers, director of research and outreach for the National Association of Counties.

"The reality is, it's gotten worse," she says.

Many coroner's offices report increases in the number of unclaimed bodies, according to a survey of members of the National Association of Medical Examiners. A little more than half of nearly 50 respondents cited an increase, according to the association's data.

Johnnetta Moore, administrator for the indigent burial program in Jacksonville, says the economy is to blame for an upswing in cremations of indigent people this spring.

"We've all seen an increase," she says of hers and other indigent burial programs in Florida.

The city cremated 306 indigent people this fiscal year through July, with two months yet to go. That number is up from a total 297 and 241 in the previous two years.

Nevada's Clark County has recorded a nearly 11% increase in indigent burials and cremations over the previous fiscal year, according to public information officer Dan Kulin.

Increasingly, counties are turning to cremations as a more affordable option than burials, Byers says, as fiscal hardships continue for state and local governments.

"It's hitting everybody at the wrong time," Byers says.

Even families who don't qualify for indigent assistance programs are looking to spend less for burial costs.

Many families are looking for ways to reduce funeral expenses, says James Olson, a spokesman for the National Funeral Directors Association and a funeral director in Sheboygan, Wis. "We've certainly seen that families don't have the funds available" and more often are opting for less expensive funeral options.

"This is the worst that I've seen, and I've been doing this kind of work since the late '60s," said Walter Hofman, coroner for Montgomery County, Pa.