I read from the LA Times, in the past year, about 700 families could not afford to claim the bodies of their loved ones due to the bad economy. Funeral is not cheap no doubt. Anyway, these poor souls just let the county coroner do the cremation, then claim the ashes back within 2 years, for $250.
I just saw a guy in a pickup with a coffin on the back, parked outside the crematory in town.