[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 193 (Wednesday, October 6, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 54206-54207]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-26066]
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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
38 CFR Part 3
RIN 2900-AJ61
Returned and Canceled Checks
AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.
ACTION: Final rule.
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[[Page 54207]]
SUMMARY: This document amends the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
adjudication regulations governing payment of the proceeds of checks
which are returned and canceled following the death of the payee. This
amendment is necessary to implement a statutory amendment that deleted
the requirement for settlement by the General Accounting Office prior
to payment of these proceeds to an estate. This document also makes
nonsubstantive changes for purposes of clarity.
DATES: Effective Date: October 19, 1996.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Warren Jones, Consultant, Regulations
Staff, Compensation and Pension Service, Veterans Benefits
Administration, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20420, telephone
(202) 273-7167.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 5122 of title 38, United States
Code, governs payment of the proceeds of VA benefit check(s) received
by a payee but not negotiated before his or her death. VA has
implemented section 5122 at 38 CFR 3.1003.
Under section 5122, VA shall upon return and cancellation of an
original benefit check pay the amount represented by the check in the
same manner as it pays accrued benefits under 38 U.S.C. 5121. Section
5121 requires VA to pay accrued benefits to the first living person(s)
in the following order: (A) veteran's spouse; (B) veteran's children
(in equal shares); and (C) veteran's dependent parents (in equal
shares). Section 5121(a)(5) also provides that, ``[i]n all other
cases,'' accrued benefits may be paid only as necessary to reimburse
the person who bore the expenses of the payee's last sickness and
burial. Section 5122 further provides that any amount not paid in this
manner shall be paid to the estate of the deceased payee, unless the
estate will escheat, i.e., revert to the state because there is no one
eligible to inherit it.
Prior to October 19, 1996, section 5122 required settlement by the
General Accounting Office (GAO) before payment could be made to an
estate. However, section 202(t) of the General Accounting Office Act of
1996, Public Law 104-316, effective October 19, 1996, amended section
5122 to delete reference to settlement by GAO. VA's Office of the
General Counsel has advised that under section 5122, VA is now
authorized to pay amounts due to the estates of deceased payees without
reference to any other agency. We are, therefore, amending 38 CFR
3.1003(b) to bring VA's regulation into conformity with the amended
statute by removing reference to settlement by GAO.
We also are amending Sec. 3.1003(b) to replace the legal term
``escheat'' with the words ``revert to the state because there is no
one eligible to inherit it.'' We believe that many will not understand
the term ``escheat'' and have, therefore, chosen to replace it with
words that express the same legal meaning but are easier for the
general public to understand.
The effective date of this amendment is October 19, 1996, the
effective date of section 202(t) of Public Law 104-316.
This final rule reflects statutory amendments and makes
nonsubstantive changes. Accordingly, there is a basis for dispensing
with prior notice and comment and delayed effective date provisions of
5 U.S.C. 552 and 553.
Because no notice of proposed rule making was required in
connection with the adoption of this final rule, no regulatory
flexibility analysis is required under the Regulatory Flexibility Act
(5 U.S.C. 601-612). Even so, the Secretary hereby certifies that this
final rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities as they are defined in the Regulatory
Flexibility Act.
The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance program numbers are
64.102, 64.104, 64.105, 64.109, and 64.110.
List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 3
Administrative practice and procedure, Claims, Disability benefits,
Health care, Pensions, Veterans, Vietnam.
Approved: September 14, 1999.
Togo D. West, Jr.,
Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 38 CFR part 3 is
amended as follows:
PART 3--ADJUDICATION
Subpart A--Pension, Compensation, and Dependency and Indemnity
Compensation
1. The authority citation for part 3, subpart A continues to read
as follows:
Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501(a), unless otherwise noted.
Sec. 3.1003 [Amended]
2. In Sec. 3.1003, paragraph (b) is amended by removing ``upon
settlement by the General Accounting Office''; and by removing
``escheat'' and adding, in its place, ``revert to the state because
there is no one eligible to inherit it''.
[FR Doc. 99-26066 Filed 10-5-99; 8:45 am]
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