My very healthy, but 87 year old mother is very unhappy about spending *any* money on the disposition of her body, or her death in general. She's living in Florida. Could you tell me the absolute minimum that is required by law on the death of a family member?

Thanks :)

If you abandon her body and the State takes care of the disposal the next of kin will be billed.

There's donating her body.

There's cremation (which is relatively inexpensive): http://affinitycremation.com/documents/affinity_florida_statutes.pdf

She will be dead and won't know how much/how little you spend on disposing of her remains.

Of course, this should be covered in a legal document.

There are definitely minimums, starting with the 'transport of a dead body' permit, and so on. Notarized death certificates have a fee, and you need at least one, and sometimes more, for banks and insurance companies.
Ask a funeral home on a quiet afternoon mid-week on the phone.
I would guess that the cheapest final disposition of a body is donation to a teaching medical center, but you need to call around and ask, at least to get names of places. It's not much help to arrange it too soon. They might not want everyone.
There's cremation, burial at sea (I think you have to be 300 miles out), forensic studies of decomposition, and 'green' burials, which often can cost more than a casket and tombstone, so check around on that too.
Keep in mind that she might say one thing and hope for another, so don't necessarily take her literally, especially if you are thinking of bringing up ALL options.

"AK" is in Florida. I'm sure he will come along and share what he knows.

"AK" is in Florida. I'm sure he will come along and share what he knows.

:)

Which is very little, except that I know how to look in the statutes. I'm with the OP's mom: when I die I don't expect to care what happens to my body.

This (http://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2012/Chapter406/Part_II) should contain most of the answers. And, in particular, look here (http://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2012/406.60).

Also one should check the local land-use regulations to see whether they prohibit or regulate burials in the back yard, or funeral pyres.