§1477. Death gratuity: eligible survivors

(a) A death gratuity payable upon the death of a person covered by section 1475 or 1476 of this title shall be paid to or for the living survivor highest on the following list:

(1) His surviving spouse.

(2) His children, as prescribed by subsection (b), in equal shares.

(3) If designated by him, any one or more of the following persons:

(A) His parents or persons in loco parentis, as prescribed by subsection (c).

(B) His brothers.

(C) His sisters.

(4) His parents or persons in loco parentis, as prescribed by subsection (c), in equal shares.

(5) His brothers and sisters in equal shares.

Clauses (3) and (5) of this subsection include brothers and sisters of the half blood and those through adoption.

(b) Subsection (a)(2) applies, without regard to age or marital status, to-

(1) legitimate children;

(2) adopted children;

(3) stepchildren who were a part of the decedent's household at the time of his death;

(4) illegitimate children of a female decedent; and

(5) illegitimate children of a male decedent-

(A) who have been acknowledged in writing signed by the decedent;

(B) who have been judicially determined, before the decedent's death, to be his children;

(C) who have been otherwise proved, by evidence satisfactory to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, to be children of the decedent; or

(D) to whose support the decedent had been judicially ordered to contribute.

(c) Clauses (3) and (4) of subsection (a), so far as they apply to parents and persons in loco parentis, include fathers and mothers through adoption, and persons who stood in loco parentis to the decedent for a period of not less than one year at any time before he acquired a status described in section 1475 or 1476 of this title. However, only one father and one mother, or their counterparts in loco parentis, may be recognized in any case, and preference shall be given to those who exercised a parental relationship on the date, or most nearly before the date, on which the decedent entered that status.

(d) If an eligible survivor dies before he receives the death gratuity, it shall be paid to the living survivor next in the order prescribed by subsection (a).

(Added Pub. L. 85–861, §1(32)(A), Sept. 2, 1958, 72 Stat. 1453 ; amended Pub. L. 101–189, div. A, title XVI, §1621(a)(2), Nov. 29, 1989, 103 Stat. 1603 .)

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised section	Source (U.S. Code)	Source (Statutes at Large)
1477(a) 1477(b)	38:1131(c) (less words in parentheses in clause (2)). 38:1134(d). 38:1101(7) (as applicable to children and as applicable to death gratuity).	Aug. 1, 1956, ch. 837, §§102(7) (as applicable to death gratuity), 301(c), (d), 304(d), 70 Stat. 860 , 868, 869.
	38:1131(c) (words in parentheses in clause (2)).
1477(c)	38:1101(7) (less applicability to children, as applicable to death gratuity).
1477(d)	38:1131(d).

In subsection (a), the words "highest on the following list" are substituted for the words "first listed below", in 38:1131(c). The words "as prescribed by subsection (b)" are inserted in clause (2) to reflect that subsection. The words "or persons in loco parentis, as prescribed by subsection (c)" are inserted in clauses (3) (A) and (4) to reflect the fact that certain persons who are not parents in the normal sense are included as eligible survivors.

In subsection (d), the words "the death gratuity" are substituted for the words "the amount to which he is entitled under this subchapter". The words "next in the order prescribed" are substituted for the words "first listed under".

Amendments

1989-Subsec. (b)(5)(C). Pub. L. 101–189 substituted "Secretary of Veterans Affairs" for "Administrator of Veterans' Affairs".

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in sections 1475, 1476, 1478, 1480 of this title.