
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 38USC1310]

 
                      TITLE 38--VETERANS' BENEFITS
 
                        PART II--GENERAL BENEFITS
 
CHAPTER 13--DEPENDENCY AND INDEMNITY COMPENSATION FOR SERVICE-CONNECTED 
                                 DEATHS
 
          SUBCHAPTER II--DEPENDENCY AND INDEMNITY COMPENSATION
 
Sec. 1310. Deaths entitling survivors to dependency and 
        indemnity compensation
        
    (a) When any veteran dies after December 31, 1956, from a service-
connected or compensable disability, the Secretary shall pay dependency 
and indemnity compensation to such veteran's surviving spouse, children, 
and parents. The standards and criteria for determining whether or not a 
disability is service-connected shall be those applicable under chapter 
11 of this title.
    (b) Dependency and indemnity compensation shall not be paid to the 
surviving spouse, children, or parents of any veteran dying after 
December 31, 1956, unless such veteran (1) was discharged or released 
under conditions other than dishonorable from the period of active 
military, naval, or air service in which the disability causing such 
veteran's death was incurred or aggravated, or (2) died while in the 
active military, naval, or air service.

(Pub. L. 85-857, Sept. 2, 1958, 72 Stat. 1127, Sec. 410; Pub. L. 94-433, 
title IV, Sec. 405(7), Sept. 30, 1976, 90 Stat. 1379; Pub. L. 95-479, 
title II, Sec. 204, Oct. 18, 1978, 92 Stat. 1564; Pub. L. 97-306, title 
I, Sec. 112(a), Oct. 14, 1982, 96 Stat. 1432; Pub. L. 100-687, div. B, 
title XIV, Sec. 1403(b), Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4131; renumbered 
Sec. 1310 and amended Pub. L. 102-83, Secs. 4(b)(1), (2)(E), 5(a), Aug. 
6, 1991, 105 Stat. 404-406.)


                               Amendments

    1991--Pub. L. 102-83, Sec. 5(a), renumbered section 410 of this 
title as this section.
    Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 102-83, Sec. 4(b)(1), (2)(E), substituted 
``Secretary'' for ``Administrator''.
    1988--Subsecs. (b), (c). Pub. L. 100-687 redesignated subsec. (c) as 
(b) and struck out former subsec. (b) which read as follows:
    ``(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this 
section, when any veteran dies, not as the result of the veteran's own 
willful misconduct, if the veteran was in receipt of or entitled to 
receive (or but for the receipt of retired or retirement pay was 
entitled to receive) compensation at the time of death for a service-
connected disability that either (A) was continuously rated totally 
disabling for a period of ten or more years immediately preceding death, 
or (B) if so rated for a lesser period, was so rated continuously for a 
period of not less than five years from the date of such veteran's 
discharge or other release from active duty, the Administrator shall pay 
benefits under this chapter to the veteran's surviving spouse, if such 
surviving spouse was married to such veteran for not less than two years 
immediately preceding such veteran's death, and to such veteran's 
children, in the same manner as if the veteran's death were service 
connected.
    ``(2) If a surviving spouse or a child receives any money or 
property of value pursuant to an award in a judicial proceeding based 
upon, or a settlement or compromise of, any cause of action for damages 
for the death of a veteran described in paragraph (1) of this 
subsection, benefits under this chapter payable to such surviving spouse 
or child by virtue of this subsection shall not be paid for any month 
following a month in which any such money or property is received until 
such time as the total amount of such benefits that would otherwise have 
been payable equals the total of the amount of the money received and 
the fair market value of the property received.
    ``(3) For purposes of sections 1448(d) and 1450(c) of title 10, 
eligibility for benefits under this chapter by virtue of this subsection 
shall be deemed eligibility for dependency and indemnity compensation 
under section 411(a) of this title.''
    1982--Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 97-306 inserted ``or entitled to 
receive'' after ``was in receipt of''.
    1978--Subsecs. (b), (c). Pub. L. 95-479 added subsec. (b) and 
redesignated former subsec. (b) as (c).
    1976--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 94-433 substituted ``such veteran's 
surviving spouse'' for ``his widow''.
    Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 94-433 substituted ``surviving spouse'', ``such 
veteran'', and ``such veteran's'' for ``widow'', ``he'', and ``his'', 
respectively.


        Effective Date of 1982 Amendment; Retrospective Payments

    Section 112(b) of Pub. L. 97-306 provided that:
    ``(1) The amendment made by subsection (a) [amending this section] 
shall take effect on October 1, 1982.
    ``(2)(A) As soon as practicable after September 30, 1982, the 
Administrator of Veterans' Affairs shall pay an amount determined under 
subparagraph (B) to each person who would have been entitled to a 
payment under chapter 13 of title 38, United States Code, for any part 
of the period beginning on October 1, 1978, and ending on September 30, 
1982, if the amendment made by subsection (a) [amending this section] 
had taken effect on October 1, 1978.
    ``(B) The amount of any payment to a person under subparagraph (A) 
is the amount equal to the total of all payments under chapter 13 of 
title 38, United States Code, that would have been made to that person 
for the period described in such subparagraph if the amendment made by 
subsection (a) [amending this section] had taken effect on October 1, 
1978.''


                    Effective Date of 1978 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 95-479 effective Oct. 1, 1978, see section 
401(a) of Pub. L. 95-479, set out as a note under section 1114 of this 
title.


                    Effective Date of 1976 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 94-433 effective Oct. 1, 1976, see section 406 
of Pub. L. 94-433, set out as a note under section 1101 of this title.


GAO Report Relating to Benefits for Survivors of Veterans and Members of 
                              Armed Forces

    Pub. L. 102-568, title I, Sec. 104, Oct. 29, 1992, 106 Stat. 4322, 
provided that:
    ``(a) In General.--The Comptroller General of the United States 
shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and 
House of Representatives a report with respect to the most appropriate 
combination of financial, health-care, educational, and other survivor 
benefits to meet the needs of survivors of veterans.
    ``(b) Contents of Report.--The report shall include the following:
        ``(1) A review and compilation of data on current and proposed 
    survivor benefits programs that will permit an assessment of the 
    adequacy of such benefits programs, including information on--
            ``(A) in the case of each current and proposed alternative 
        survivor benefits program--
                ``(i) each benefit provided;
                ``(ii) the survivors entitled to the benefit;
                ``(iii) the extent to which survivors are entitled to 
            similar benefits under the program; and
                ``(iv) the costs of providing such benefits under the 
            program;
            ``(B) the extent to which current and anticipated benefits 
        under current survivor benefits programs meet the current and 
        anticipated financial, health-care, educational, and other needs 
        of survivors; and
            ``(C) the differences, if any, in the survivor benefits 
        provided under current and proposed survivor benefits programs 
        to survivors of various categories of veterans and members of 
        the Armed Forces (including survivors of veterans having 
        service-connected disabilities, veterans without such 
        disabilities, members of the Armed Forces who die during service 
        in the Armed Forces, members of the Armed Forces retired under 
        any provision of law other than chapter 61 of title 10, United 
        States Code, and members of the Armed Forces retired under 
        chapter 61 of title 10, United States Code (relating to 
        retirement or separation for physical disability)).
        ``(2) A review and compilation of existing studies on the 
    adequacy of survivor benefits provided under current and proposed 
    survivor benefits programs to meet the financial, health-care, 
    educational, and other needs of survivors.
        ``(3) A comprehensive assessment and evaluation of the adequacy 
    of current and proposed survivor benefits programs, including data 
    and methods for an assessment and evaluation of--
            ``(A) the feasibility and desirability of limiting the 
        period of entitlement of survivors to survivor benefits;
            ``(B) the feasibility and desirability of modifying the 
        provision of monetary benefits to survivors by--
                ``(i) revising the term of payment of any such benefits;
                ``(ii) replacing the periodic payment of such benefits 
            with a lump sum payment;
                ``(iii) providing such benefits through insurance or 
            other premium-based payment mechanisms; or
                ``(iv) carrying out any other revision or modification 
            proposed before the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 
            29, 1992] by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the 
            Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Health and Human 
            Services, or organizations recognized by the Secretary of 
            Veterans Affairs under section 5902(a)(1) of title 38, 
            United States Code;
            ``(C) the feasibility and desirability of modifying the 
        provision of health-care benefits to survivors;
            ``(D) the feasibility and desirability of modifying the 
        provision of benefits to children survivors; and
            ``(E) the feasibility and desirability of consolidating, 
        expanding, or otherwise modifying any program relating to the 
        provision of survivor benefits.
        ``(4) The recommendations of the Comptroller General (including 
    a proposal for legislation) on the most appropriate combination of 
    survivor benefits to meet the current and anticipated financial, 
    health-care, educational, and other needs of survivors.
    ``(c) Submission of Report.--The Comptroller General shall submit 
the report not later than April 1, 1994.
    ``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
        ``(1) The term `survivor', in the case of a veteran or member of 
    the Armed Forces who dies, means the surviving spouse or surviving 
    dependent child of the veteran or member.
        ``(2) The term `survivor benefit' means any monetary, health-
    care, educational, or other benefit paid, payable, or otherwise 
    provided to survivors of veterans and survivors of members of the 
    Armed Forces under the following:
            ``(A) Laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans 
        Affairs.
            ``(B) Laws administered by the Secretary of Defense.
            ``(C) The Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 301 et seq.).
        ``(3) The term `veteran' has the meaning given such term in 
    section 101(2) of title 38, United States Code.''


              Dependency and Indemnity Compensation Program

    Section 204 of Pub. L. 94-433 directed Administrator of Veterans' 
Affairs to study dependency and indemnity compensation program 
authorized by this chapter in order to evaluate benefits provided by 
program and to determine whether, or to what extent, benefits should be 
based on military pay grade of person upon whose death entitlement is 
predicated, and directed Administrator to submit to Congress and 
President not later than Oct. 1, 1977, a report containing results of 
study together with Administrator's recommendations for improvement of 
program.


 Study by Administrator of Dependency and Indemnity Compensation Claims

    Pub. L. 94-71, Sec. 204, Aug. 5, 1975, 89 Stat. 397, directed 
Administrator of Veterans' Affairs to make a study of claims for 
dependency and indemnity compensation relating to veterans who at time 
of death during period Sept. 1, 1975 to Mar. 1, 1976, were receiving 
disability compensation based upon a total and permanent disability and 
required report to be submitted to Speaker of House and President of 
Senate no later than Oct. 1, 1976.
    Pub. L. 93-295, title II, Sec. 207, May 31, 1974, 88 Stat. 183, 
directed Administrator to make a study of claims for dependency and 
indemnity compensation relating to veterans who, at time of death within 
six months of May 31, 1974, were receiving disability compensation, and 
to report to Speaker of House and President of Senate no more than 30 
days after beginning of 94th Congress.
