annulment of a marriage shall be the date the judicial decree of annulment becomes final if a claim therefor is filed within one year from the date the judicial decree of annulment becomes final; in all other cases the effective date shall be the date the claim is filed.í

[§ 3011] 2

§ 3012. Effective dates of reductions and discontinuances 3

(a) Except as otherwise specified in this section, the effective date of reduction or discontinuance of compensation, dependency and indemnity compensation, or pension shall be fixed in accordance with the facts found.

(b) The effective date of a reduction or discontinuance of compensation, dependency and indemnity compensation, or pension

(1) by reason of marriage or remarriage, or death of a payee shall be the last day of the month before such marriage, remarriage, or death occurs;

(2) by reason of marriage, divorce, or death of a dependent of a payee shall be the last day of the month in which such marriage, divorce, or death occurs;

(3) by reason of receipt of active service pay or retirement pay shall be the day before the date such pay began;

(4) by reason of change in income or corpus of estate shall be the last day of the month in which the change occurred, except that when a change in income is due to an increase in payments under a public or private retirement plan or program the effective date of a reduction or discontinuance resulting therefrom shall be the last day of the calendar year in which the change occurred; *

(5) by reason of a change in disability or employability of a veteran in receipt of pension shall be the last day of the month in which discontinuance of the award is approved;

(6) by reason of change in law or administrative issue, change in interpretation of a law or administrative issue, or, for compensation purposes, a change in service-connected or employability status or change in physical condition shall be the last day of the month following sixty days from the date of notice to the payee (at his last address of record) of the reduction or discontinuance;

(7) by reason of the discontinuance of school attendance of a payee or a dependent of a payee shall be the last day of the month in which such discontinuance occurred;

(8) by reason of termination of a temporary increase in compensation for hospitalization or treatment shall be the last day of the month in which the hospital discharge or termination of treatment occurred, whichever is earlier;

(9) by reason of an erroneous award based on an act of commission or omission by the beneficiary, or with his knowledge, shall be the effective date of the award; and

(10) by reason of an erroneous award based solely on administrative error or error in judgment shall be the date of last payment.

1 Added by sec. 3, Public Law 87-674 as subsec. 3010(f) and reenacted as subsec. 3010(k) by sec. 1. Public Law 87-825.

Section 3011 deleted by subsec. 5(a), Public Law 87-825.

3 Section amended by sec. 2, Public Law 87-825.

4 Paragraph amended by sec. 3, Public Law 89-730.

§ 3013. Effective dates of educational benefits

Effective dates relating to awards under chapters 31, 34, and 35 of this title shall, to the extent feasible, correspond to effective dates relating to awards of disability compensation.1

Subchapter III-Payment of Benefits

§ 3020. Payment of benefits by check; delivery

(a) Monetary benefits under laws administered by the Veterans' Administration shall be paid by checks drawn, pursuant to certification by the Administrator, in such form as to protect the United States against loss, and payable by the Treasurer of the United States. Such checks shall be payable without separate vouchers or receipts except in any case in which the Administrator may consider a voucher necessary for the protection of the Government. Such checks shall be transmitted by mail to the payee thereof at his last known address and, if he has moved and filed a regular change of address notice with the Post Office Department, shall be forwarded to him. The envelope or cover of each such check shall bear on the face thereof the following notice: "POSTMASTER: PLEASE FORWARD if addressee has moved and filed a regular change-of-address notice. If addressee is deceased, return the letter with date of death, if known."

(b) Postmasters, delivery clerks, letter carriers, and all other postal employees are prohibited from delivering any mail addressed by the United States and containing any such check to any person whomsoever if he has died or in the case of a widow, if the postal employee believes that she has remarried (unless the mail is addressed to her in the name she has acquired by her remarriage). The preceding sentence shall apply in the case of checks in payment of benefits other than pension, compensation, dependency and indemnity compensation, and insurance, only insofar as the Administrator deems it necessary to protect the United States against loss.

(c) Whenever mail is not delivered because of the prohibition of subsection (b), such mail shall be returned forthwith by the postmaster with a statement of the reason for so doing, and if because of death or remarriage, the date thereof, if known. Checks returned under this subsection because of death or remarriage shall be canceled. § 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

1 Section amended by sec. 4 (p), Public Law 89-358.

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's 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.

§ 3022. Cancellation of checks mailed to deceased payees

A check received by a payee in payment of accrued benefits shall, if the payee died on or after the last day of the period covered by the check, be returned to the issuing office and canceled, unless negotiated by the payee or the duly appointed representative of his estate. The amount represented by such check, or any amount recovered by reason of improper negotiation of any such check, shall be payable in the manner provided in section 3021 of this title, without regard to section 3021 (c) of this title. Any amount not paid in the manner provided in section 3021 of this title shall be paid upon settlement by the General Accounting Office to the estate of the deceased payee unless the estate will escheat.

Sec.

CHAPTER 53 SPECIAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO

BENEFITS

8101. Nonassignability and exempt status of benefits.

3102. Waiver of recovery of overpayments.

3103. Certain bars to benefits.

3104. Prohibition against duplication of benefits.

3105. Waiver of retired pay.

3106. Renouncement of right to benefits.

3107. Apportionment of benefits.

3108. Withholding benefits of persons in territory of the enemy.

3109. Payment of certain withheld benefits.

3110. Payment of benefits for month of death.

§ 3101. Nonassignability and exempt status of benefits

pay

(a) Payments of benefits due or to become due under any law administered by the Veterans' Administration shall not be assignable except to the extent specifically authorized by law, and such ments made to, or on account of, a beneficiary shall be exempt from taxation, shall be exempt from the claim of creditors, and shall not be liable to attachment, levy, or seizure by or under any legal or equitable process whatever, either before or after receipt by the beneficiary. The preceding sentence shall not apply to claims of the United States arising under such laws nor shall the exemption therein contained as to taxation extend to any property purchased in part or wholly out of such payments. The provisions of this section shall not be construed to prohibit the assignment of insurance otherwise authorized under chapter 19 of this title, or of servicemen's indemnity.

(b) This section shall prohibit the collection by set off or otherwise out of any benefits payable pursuant to any law administered by the Veterans Administration and relating to veterans, their estates, or their dependents, of any claim of the United States or any agency thereof against (1) any person other than the indebted beneficiary or his estate; or (2) any beneficiary or his estate except amounts due the United States by such beneficiary or his estate by reason of overpayments or illegal payments made under such laws to such beneficiary or his estate or to his dependents as such. If the benefits referred to in the preceding sentence are insurance payable by reason of yearly renewable term insurance, United States Government life insurance, or National Service Life Insurance issued by the United States, the exemption provided in this section shall not apply to indebtedness existing against the particular insurance contract upon the maturity of which the claim is based, whether such indebtedness is in the form of liens to secure unpaid premiums or loans, or interest on such premiums or loans, or indebetedness arising from overpayments of dividends, refunds, loans, or other insurance benefits.

(c) Notwithstanding subsection (a) payments of benefits under laws administered by the Veterans' Administration shall not be exempt. from levy under subchapter D of chapter 64 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (relating to seizure of property for collection of taxes). § 3102. Waiver of recovery of overpayments

(a) There shall be no recovery of payments or overpayments of any benefits (except servicemen's indemnity) under any of the laws administered by the Veterans' Administration from any person who, in the judgment of the Administrator, is without fault on his part, and where, in the judgment of the Administrator, such recovery would defeat the purpose of benefits otherwise authorized or would be against equity and good conscience.

(b) No certifying or disbursing officer shall be liable for any amount paid to any person where the recovery of such amount is waived under subsection (a).

(c) Where the recovery of a payment or overpayment made from the National Service Life Insurance Fund or United States Government life insurance fund is waived under this section, the fund from which the payment was made shall be reimbursed from the National Service

Life Insurance appropriation or the military and naval insurance appropriation, as applicable.

§ 3103. Certain bars to benefits

(a) The discharge or dismissal by reason of the sentence of a general court-martial of any person from the Armed Forces, or the discharge of any such person on the ground that he was a conscientious objector who refused to perform military duty or refused to wear the uniform. or otherwise to comply with lawful orders of competent military authority, or as a deserter, or of an officer by the acceptance of his resig nation for the good of the service, or (except as provided in subsection (c)) the discharge of any individual during a period of hostilities as an alien, shall bar all rights of such person under laws administered by the Veterans' Administration based upon the period of service from which discharged or dismissed.

(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), if it is established to the satisfaction of the Administrator that, at the time of the commission of an offense leading to his court-martial, discharge, or resignation, any person was insane, such person shall not be precluded from benefits under laws administered by the Veterans' Administration based upon the period of service from which he was separated.

(c) Subsection (a) shall not apply to any alien whose service was honest and faithful, and who was not discharged on his own application or solicitation as an alien. No individual shall be considered as having been discharged on his own application or solicitation as an alien in the absence of affirmative evidence establishing that he was so discharged.1

(d) This section shall not apply to any war-risk insurance, Government (converted) or National Service Life Insurance policy.

§ 3104. Prohibition against duplication of benefits

(a) Except to the extent that retirement pay is waived under other provisions of law, not more than one award of pension, compensation, emergency officers', regular, or reserve retirement pay, or initial award of naval pension granted after July 13, 1943, shall be made concurrently to any person based on his own service or concurrently to any person based on the service of any other person.2

(b) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the receipt of pension, compensation, or dependency and indemnity compensation by a widow, child, or parent on account of the death of any person, or receipt by any person of pension or compensation on account of his own service, shall not bar the payment of pension, compensation, or dependency and indemnity compensation on account of the death or disability of any other person.

(2) Benefits other than insurance under laws administered by the Veterans' Administration may not be paid or furnished to or on account of any child by reason of the death of more than one parent in the same parental line; however, the child may elect one or more times to receive benefits by reason of the death of any one of such parents.3

1 Subsection amended by Public Law 86-113.

2 Subsection amended by sec. 9, Public Law 88-664, effective Jan. 1, 1965.

* Paragraph amended by Public Law 86–495.