**§12.5 Nondesignee cases.**

\(a\) If there exists no designee at the time of death at a hospital,
domiciliary, or regional office of a veteran admitted as competent or
the designee fails or refuses to claim the funds and effects as defined
in §12.0(a) within 90 days following the mailing of notice to such
designee, the facility head will take appropriate action to dispose of
the effects to the person or persons legally entitled thereto, i.e., the
executor or administrator of the decedent, or, if no notice of such an
appointment has been received, to the decedent's widow, child,
grandchild, mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, brother, or
sister, in the order named. Subject to the applicable provisions of
§§12.3 and 12.4, such delivery may be made at any time before the sale
contemplated by §12.9 to the designee or other person entitled under the
facts of the case. Delivery will be made to the person entitled to
priority as prescribed in this paragraph, unless such person waives
right to possession, in which event delivery will be to the person, if
any, in whose favor such prior entitled person waives right to
possession. If the waiver is not in favor of a particular person or
class, delivery will be to the person or persons next in order of
priority under this paragraph. If in any case there be more than one
person in the class entitled to priority, initially or by reason of
waiver, delivery will be made only to their joint designated agent (who
may, but need not, be one of the class), or to one of such class in his
or her own behalf upon written waiver of all others of the class
entitled thereto. The guardian of a minor or incompetent may waive his
or her ward's prior right to possession.

\(b\) Except where delivery is made to a designee, executor, or
administrator, funds of veterans who were competent at time of death
will be released to the person or persons who would ultimately be
entitled to distribution under the laws of the State of the decedent's
domicile. The person or persons entitled may waive in writing his or her
right to the funds in favor of another heir or next of kin.

\(c\) Funds of veterans who were incompetent at time of death occurring
after November 30, 1959, if derived from sources other than gratuitous
benefits deposited by the Department of Veterans Affairs in Personal
Funds of Patients under laws administered by the Department of Veterans
Affairs, will be disposed of in the same manner as for competent
veterans.

\(d\) Funds deposited by the Department of Veterans Affairs in Personal
Funds of Patients, at any office, for veterans who were incompetent at
time of death occurring after November 30, 1959, and which were derived
from gratuitous benefits under laws administered by the Department of
Veterans Affairs, will be paid upon receipt of proper application to the
following persons living at the time of settlement, and in the order
named: the surviving spouse, the children (without regard to age or
marital status) in equal parts, and the dependent parents of such
veteran, in equal parts. Any funds derived from gratuitous benefits not
disposed of in accordance with this paragraph shall be deposited to the
credit of the applicable current appropriation; except that there may be
paid only so much of such funds as may be necessary to reimburse a
person (other than a political subdivision of the United States) who
bore the expenses of last sickness or burial of the veteran for such
expenses.

\(e\) No payment shall be made under paragraph (d) of this section
unless claim therefor is filed with the Department of Veterans Affairs
within 5 years after the death of the veteran, except that, if any
person so entitled under such regulation is under legal disability at
the time of death of the veteran, such 5-year period of limitation shall
run from the termination or removal of the legal disability.

\[18 FR 1854, Apr. 3, 1953, and 25 FR 1614, Feb. 25, 1960, as amended at
29 FR 17904, Dec. 17, 1964\]