Texas Health and Safety Code 696.003 – Authorization to Release Information
Terms Used In Texas Health and Safety Code 696.003
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
- Person: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- United States: includes a department, bureau, or other agency of the United States of America. See Texas Government Code 311.005
A person who possesses unclaimed cremated remains may release to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or a veterans’ service organization verification information associated with the remains to verify whether the remains are the remains of a person who was a veteran or a veteran’s dependent eligible to be interred in a veterans cemetery if:
(1) the person has possessed the cremated remains for at least five years;
(2) the person authorized to dispose of the decedent‘s remains under § 711.002 has not claimed the cremated remains; and
(3) the person made a reasonable effort to locate a relative of the decedent to claim the remains, including publishing notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the person is located, and more than 30 days have passed since the person first made an effort to locate a relative of the decedent.