Payment of certain accrued benefits upon death of a beneficiary

§ 3021. Payment of certain accrued benefits upon death of a beneficiary (a) Except as provided in section 3203 (a)(2)(A) of this title and sections 123–128 of title 31, periodic monetary benefits (other than insurance and servicemen’s indemnity) under laws administered by the Veterans’ Administration to which an individual was entitled at his death under existing ratings or decisions, or those based on evidence in the file at date of death (hereafter in this section and section 3022 of this title referred to as “accrued benefits”) and due and unpaid for a period not to exceed one year, shall, upon the death of such individual be paid as follows: (1) Upon the death of a person receiving an apportioned share of benefits payable to a veteran, all or any part of such benefits to the veteran or to any other dependent or dependents of the veteran, as may be determined by the Administrator; (2) Upon the death of a veteran, to the living person first listed below: (A) His spouse; (B) His children (in equal shares); (C) His dependent parents (in equal shares); (3) Upon the death of a widow or remarried widow, to the children of the deceased veteran; (4) Upon the death of a child, to the surviving children of the veteran who are entitled to death compensation, dependency and indemnity compensation, or death pension; and (5) In all other cases, only so much of the accrued benefits may be paid as may be necessary to reimburse the person who bore the expense of last sickness and burial. (b) No part of any accrued benefits shall be used to reimburse any political subdivision of the United States for expenses incurred in the last sickness or burial of any beneficiary. (c) Applications for accrued benefits must be filed within one year after the date of death. If a claimant’s application is incomplete at the time it is originally submitted, the Administrator shall notify the claimant of the evidence necessary to complete the application. If such evidence is not received within one year from the date of such notification, no accrued benefits may be paid.