10 U.S.C. § 2771 - Final settlement of accounts: deceased members

• Cite as: 10 U.S.C. § 2771

(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.

Cite as 10 U.S.C. § 2771

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

Notes from the Office of Law Revision Counsel

current through 10/14/2021

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".