
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 2, 2001 and January 28, 2002]
[CITE: 10USC2771]

 
                         TITLE 10--ARMED FORCES
 
                    Subtitle A--General Military Law
 
                PART IV--SERVICE, SUPPLY, AND PROCUREMENT
 
             CHAPTER 165--ACCOUNTABILITY AND RESPONSIBILITY
 
Sec. 2771. Final settlement of accounts: deceased members

    (a) In the settlement of the accounts of a deceased member of the 
armed forces, an amount due from the armed force of which he was a 
member shall be paid to the person highest on the following list living 
on the date of death:
        (1) Beneficiary designated by him in writing to receive such an 
    amount, if the designation is received, before the deceased member's 
    death, at the place named in regulations to be prescribed by the 
    Secretary concerned.
        (2) Surviving spouse.
        (3) Children and their descendants, by representation.
        (4) Father and mother in equal parts or, if either is dead, the 
    survivor.
        (5) Legal representative.
        (6) Person entitled under the law of the domicile of the 
    deceased member.

    (b) Designations and changes of designation of beneficiaries under 
subsection (a)(1) are subject to regulations to be prescribed by the 
Secretary concerned. So far as practicable, these regulations shall be 
uniform for the uniformed services.
    (c) Payments under subsection (a) shall be made by the Secretary of 
Defense.
    (d) A payment under this section bars recovery by any other person 
of the amount paid.

(Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 155; Pub. L. 85-861, Sec. 1(56), 
Sept. 2, 1958, 72 Stat. 1461; Pub. L. 86-641, July 12, 1960, 74 Stat. 
473; Pub. L. 89-718, Sec. 8(a), Nov. 2, 1966, 80 Stat. 1117; Pub. L. 96-
513, title V, Sec. 511(97), Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2928; Pub. L. 103-
160, div. A, title XI, Sec. 1182(a)(11), Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1771; 
Pub. L. 104-316, title II, Sec. 202(f), Oct. 19, 1996, 110 Stat. 3842.)

                                          Historical and Revision Notes
                                                    1956 Act
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
            Revised section                      Source (U.S. Code)            
   Source (Statutes at Large)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
2771(a)...............................  10:868 (less proviso).               Ju
ne 30, 1906, ch. 3914, Sec.  1
                                        34:941a (less proviso).               (
last par. under ``State or
2771(b)...............................  10:868 (proviso).                     T
erritorial Homes for Disabled
                                        34:941a (proviso).                    S
oldiers and Sailors''); restated
                                                                              D
ec. 7, 1944, ch. 519; restated
                                                                              F
eb. 25, 1946, ch. 35, Sec.  4, 60
                                                                              S
tat. 30.
                                        ...................................  Fe
b. 25, 1946, ch. 35, Sec.  1, 60
                                                                              S
tat. 30; Aug. 4, 1949, ch. 393,
                                                                              S
ec.  18, 63 Stat. 560.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------

    In subsections (a) and (b), the words ``General Accounting Office'' 
are substituted for the words ``accounting officers'', for clarity.
    In subsection (a), the word ``member'' is substituted for the words 
``officers or enlisted persons'', in 10:868 and 34:941a. The words ``his 
legal representative'' are substituted for the words ``a duly appointed 
legal representative of the estate'', since an estate, being property 
and not an entity, has no representative. The words ``duly appointed'' 
are omitted as surplusage. The words ``highest on the following list'' 
are substituted for the words ``following order of precedence'', in 
10:868 and 34:941a. Clauses (1)-(4) are substituted for the words 
between the first and second colons of 10:868 and 34:941a. The words 
``Surviving spouse'' are substituted for the words ``widow or widower'' 
after the words ``First, to''.
    In subsection (b), the words ``That this section shall not be so 
construed as to prevent'', ``or persons'', and ``actually'', in 10:868 
and 34:941a, are omitted as surplusage.

                                                    1958 Act
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
            Revised section                      Source (U.S. Code)            
   Source (Statutes at Large)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
2771(a)...............................  37:361.                              Ju
ly 12, 1955, ch. 328, Secs.  1-3,
                                        37:362.                               4
 (less proviso), 5 (first
                                        37:365.                               s
entence), 69 Stat. 295, 296.
2771(b)...............................  37:364 (less proviso).
2771(c)...............................  37:363 (less last sentence).
                                        37:363 (last sentence).
2771(d)...............................
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------

    In subsection (a), the definition of the term ``Department'', in 
37:361, is omitted as unnecessary, since the particular departments 
referred to are spelled out in the revised text. The definition of the 
term ``uniformed services'', in 37:361, is omitted as covered by the 
word ``member'' in this revised section and by sections 3 and 4 of the 
Act enacting this revised section. Clauses (1)-(6) are substituted for 
the last 5 clauses of 37:362. The words ``regulations to be prescribed 
by the Secretary concerned'' are substituted for the words ``regulations 
of the Department concerned'', since the ``Department'', as such, cannot 
issue regulations.
    In subsection (a)(2), the words ``surviving spouse'' are substituted 
for the words ``widow or widower''. As defined in section 101(32), 
``spouse'' includes a widower.
    In subsection (b), the words ``are subject to'' are substituted for 
the words ``shall be made under''.
    In subsection (c), the word ``Under'' is substituted for the words 
``Subject to''. The words ``rules and'' are omitted as surplusage.


                               Amendments

    1996--Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 104-316 amended subsec. (c) generally. 
Prior to amendment, subsec. (c) read as follows: ``Under such 
regulations as the Comptroller General may prescribe, payments under 
subsection (a) shall be made by the military department concerned or the 
Department of Transportation, as the case may be. Payment under clause 
(6) of subsection (a) shall be made--
        ``(1) upon settlement by the General Accounting Office; or
        ``(2) as otherwise authorized by the Comptroller General.''
    1993--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103-160, Sec. 1182(a)(11)(A), struck out 
``who dies after December 31, 1955'' after ``armed forces'' in 
introductory provisions.
    Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103-160, Sec. 1182(a)(11)(B), substituted ``for 
the uniformed services'' for ``for the armed forces, the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Public Health Service''.
    1980--Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 96-513, Sec. 511(97)(A), substituted 
``National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration'' for ``Environmental 
Science Services Administration''.
    Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 96-513, Sec. 511(97)(B), substituted 
``Department of Transportation'' for ``Department of the Treasury''.
    1966--Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 89-718 substituted ``Environmental 
Science Services Administration'' for ``Coast and Geodetic Survey''.
    1960--Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 86-641 substituted provisions requiring 
payment under clause (6) of subsection (a) to be made upon settlement by 
the General Accounting Office or as otherwise authorized by the 
Comptroller General for provisions which permitted payments under 
clauses (2) to (6) of subsection (a) to be made only after settlement by 
the General Accounting Office.
    1958--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 85-861 amended subsec. (a) generally to 
restrict application of section to members of the armed forces who die 
after Dec. 31, 1955, and to permit payment to the designated 
beneficiaries, surviving spouse, children and their descendants, and to 
parents before payment to the legal representative.
    Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 85-861 substituted provisions relating to 
designations and changes of designation of beneficiaries for provisions 
which authorized reimbursement of funeral expenses.
    Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 85-861 added subsecs. (c) and (d).


                    Effective Date of 1980 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 96-513 effective Dec. 12, 1980, see section 
701(b)(3) of Pub. L. 96-513, set out as a note under section 101 of this 
title.


                                 Repeals

    The directory language of, but not the amendment made by, Pub. L. 
89-718, Sec. 8(a), Nov. 2, 1966, 80 Stat. 1117, cited as a credit to 
this section, was repealed by Pub. L. 97-295, Sec. 6(b), Oct. 12, 1982, 
96 Stat. 1314.

                          Transfer of Functions

    For transfer of functions of Public Health Service, see note set out 
under section 802 of this title.


 Final Settlement of Accounts of Members Who Died Before January 1, 1960

    Section 29 of Pub. L. 85-861 provided that:
    ``(a) In the settlement of the accounts of a member of the Army, 
Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps who died before January 1, 1956, if a 
demand is not made by his legal representative, the General Accounting 
Office may allow any amount due, to the person highest on the following 
list living on the date of settlement:
        ``(1) Surviving spouse.
        ``(2) Children and their issue, per stirpes.
        ``(3) Father and mother in equal parts or, if either is dead, 
    the survivor.
        ``(4) Brothers and sisters, and their children, per stirpes.
    ``(b) Reimbursement for funeral expenses may be made from the amount 
due the decedent's estate, if the person who paid the expenses presents 
a claim for them before settlement by the General Accounting Office.''


         Designation of Beneficiary Made Before January 1, 1956

    Section 31 of Pub. L. 85-861 provided that: ``The designation of a 
beneficiary made for the purposes of any six months' death gratuity, 
including the designation of a person whose right to the gratuity does 
not depend upon that designation, and received in the military 
department concerned, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of 
Commerce, or the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, as the 
case may be, before January 1, 1956, is considered as the designation of 
a beneficiary for the purposes of section 2771 of title 10, United 
States Code [this section], section 714 of title 32, United States Code, 
and sections 3 and 4 of this Act [amending section 857a of Title 33, and 
section 213a of Title 42], in the absence of a designation under one of 
those sections, unless the member making the designation was missing, 
missing in action, in the hands of a hostile force, or interned in a 
foreign country any time after July 11, 1955, and before January 1, 
1956.''

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in section 1552 of this title; title 5 
section 8316; title 24 section 420; title 32 section 714; title 33 
section 857a; title 37 section 501; title 42 section 213a.
