Florida Statute 406.52
“Retention of human remains before use; claim after delivery to anatomical board; procedures for unclaimed remains of indigent persons”
What it means
Florida Statute 406.52 builds a pause into the anatomical board's process. The board must keep every set of human remains it receives in storage for at least 48 hours before allowing any use for medical education or research, and it may refuse any unclaimed or indigent remains for any reason.
More important for families: at any time before use for medical education or research, a legally authorized person may claim remains delivered to the board. The board must release them after its expenses for transporting, embalming, and storing the remains are paid. Counties may also adopt procedures for burying or cremating the unclaimed remains of indigent persons, and chapter 497 licensees acting on a county's written direction are shielded from damages.
- 48-hour minimum in storage before the board may allow remains to be used for medical education or research.
- A legally authorized person may claim remains at any time before their use — arriving late is not automatically too late.
- Release requires paying the board's transporting, embalming, and storage expenses.
- The board may refuse to accept unclaimed remains or the remains of an indigent person, for any reason.
- County commissions may adopt policies for burial or cremation of indigent persons' unclaimed remains; licensees following written county direction are not liable for damages.
How it plays out
The claim-back right is the piece families most often don't know they have. Relatives who learn of a death weeks after the body went to the anatomical board assume the door has closed; under this section it stays open until the remains are actually used. Our advice is always to move immediately and put the claim in writing — the window has no fixed length, only an endpoint nobody will announce. Budget for the board's expenses, because release is conditioned on paying them.
Questions people ask
