AMENDMENTS TO THE ARMED FORCES RETIREMENT HOME ACT OF 1991.

SEC. 366. AMENDMENTS TO THE ARMED FORCES RETIREMENT HOME ACT OF 1991. (a) Support for Home by Department of Defense.—Section 1511 of the Armed Forces Retirement Home Act of 1991 (title XV of Public Law 101–510; 24 U.S.C. 411) is amended— (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (f); and (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the following new subsection (e): “(e) Department of Defense Support.—The Secretary of Defense may make available to the Retirement Home, on a nonreimbursable basis, administrative support and office services, legal and policy planning (b) assistance, access to investigative facilities of the Inspector General of the Department of Defense and of the military departments, and any other support necessary to enable the Retirement Home to carry out its functions under this Act.”. (b) Authority of Retirement Home Chairman.—Paragraph (1) of section 1515(d) of such Act (24 U.S.C. 415(d)) is amended to read as follows: “(1)(A) The Secretary of Defense shall select one of the members of the Retirement Home Board to serve as chairman. The term of office of the chairman shall be five years. At the discretion of the Secretary a chairman may serve a second five-year term of office as chairman. “(B) The chairman shall act as the chief executive officer of the Armed Forces Retirement Home and while so acting shall not be responsible to the Secretary of Defense or to the Secretaries of the military departments for direction and management of the Retirement Home or each facility maintained as a separate facility of the Retirement Home. “(C) The chairman may appoint, in addition to such ad hoc committees as the chairman determines to be appropriate, a standing executive committee to act for, and in the name of, the Retirement Home Board at such times and on such matters as the chairman considers necessary to expedite the efficient and timely management of each facility maintained as a separate facility of the Retirement Home. “(D) The chairman may appoint an administrative staff to assist the chairman in the performance of the duties of the chairman. The chairman shall determine the rates of pay applicable to such staff, except that a staff member who is a member of the Armed Forces on active duty or who is a full-time officer or employee of the United States shall receive no additional pay by reason of service on the administrative staff.”. (c) Hospital Care for Home Residents.—Section 1513(b) of such Act (24 U.S.C. 413(b)) is amended by striking out the second sentence and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “Secondary and tertiary hospital care for residents that is not available at a facility maintained as a separate establishment of the Retirement Home shall, to the extent available, be obtained by agreement with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs or the Secretary of Defense 107 STAT. 1631in a facility administered by such Secretary. The Retirement Home shall not be responsible for the costs incurred for such care by a resident of the Retirement Home who uses a private medical facility for such care.”. (d) Disposition of Estates of Deceased Persons.—Subsection (a) of section 1520 of such Act (24 U.S.C. 420) is amended to read as follows: “(a) Disposition of Effects of Deceased Persons.—The Director of each facility that is maintained as a separate establishment of the Retirement Home shall safeguard and dispose of the estate and personal effects of deceased residents, including effects delivered to such facility under sections 4712(f) and 9712(f) of title 10, United States Code, and shall ensure the following: “(1) A will or other instrument of a testamentary nature involving property rights executed by a resident shall be promptly delivered, upon the death of the resident, to the proper court of record. “(2) If a resident dies intestate and the heirs or legal representative of the deceased cannot be immediately ascertained, the Director shall retain all property left by the decedent for a three-year period beginning on the date of the death. If entitlement to such property is established to the satisfaction of the Director at any time during the three-year period, the Director shall distribute the decedent’s property, in equal pro-rata shares when multiple beneficiaries have been identified, to the highest following categories of identified survivors (listed in the order of precedence indicated): “(A) The surviving spouse or legal representative. “(B) The children of the deceased. “(C) The parents of the deceased. “(D) The siblings of the deceased. “(E) The next-of-kin of the deceased”. (e) Sale of Effects.—Subsection (b) of such section 1520 is amended to read as follows: “(b) Sale of Effects.—(1)(A) If the disposition of the estate of a resident of the Retirement Home cannot be accomplished under subsection (a)(2) or if a resident dies testate and the nominated fiduciary, legatees, or heirs of the resident cannot be immediately ascertained, the entirety of the deceased resident’s domiciliary estate and the entirety of any ancillary estate that is unclaimed at the end of the three-year period beginning on the date of the death of the resident shall escheat to the Retirement Home. “(B) Upon the sale of any such unclaimed estate property, the proceeds of the sale shall be deposited in the Retirement Home Trust Fund. “(C) If a personal representative or other fiduciary is appointed to administer a deceased resident’s estate and the administration is completed before the end of such three-year period, the balance of the entire net proceeds of the estate, less expenses, shall be deposited directly in the Retirement Home Trust Fund. The heirs or legatees of the deceased resident may file a claim made with the Comptroller General of the United States to reclaim such proceeds. A determination of the claim by the Comptroller General shall be subject to judicial review exclusively by the United States Court of Federal Claims. “(2)(A) The Director of a facility maintained as a separate establishment of the Retirement Home may designate an attorney 107 STAT. 1632to serve as attorney or agent for the facility in any probate proceeding in which the Retirement Home may have a legal interest as nominated fiduciary, testamentary legatee, escheat legatee, or in any other capacity. “(B) An attorney designated under this paragraph may, in the domiciliary jurisdiction of the deceased resident and in any ancillary jurisdiction, petition for appointment as fiduciary. The attorney shall have priority over any petitioners (other than the deceased resident’s nominated fiduciary, named legatees, or heirs) to serve as fiduciary. In a probate proceeding in which the heirs of an intestate deceased resident cannot be located and in a probate proceeding in which the nominated fiduciary, legatees, or heirs of a testate deceased resident cannot be located, the attorney shall be appointed as the fiduciary of the deceased resident’s estate. “(3) The designation of an employee or representative of a facility of the Retirement Home as personal representative of the estate of a resident of the Retirement Home or as a legatee under the will or codicil of the resident shall not disqualify an employee or staff member of that facility from serving as a competent witness to a will or codicil of the resident. “(4) After the end of the three-year period beginning on the date of the death of a resident of a facility, the Director of the facility shall dispose of all property of the deceased resident that is not otherwise disposed of under this subsection, including personal effects such as decorations, medals, and citations to which a right has not been established under subsection (a). Disposal may be made within the discretion of the Director by— “(A) retaining such property or effects for the facility; “(B) offering such items to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, a State, another military home, a museum, or any other institution having an interest in such items; or “(C) destroying any items determined by the Director to be valueless.”. (f) Applicability.—Section 1541 of such Act (24 U.S.C. 401 note) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: “(d) Applicability.—Section 1520 of this Act shall apply to the estate of each resident of the Armed Forces Retirement Home, including the United States Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home and the Naval Home, who dies after November 29, 1989.”.