§ 1482. Expenses incident to death

(a) Incident to the recovery, care, and disposition of the remains of any decedent covered by section 1481 of this title, the Secretary concerned may pay the necessary expenses of the following:

(1) Recovery and identification of the remains.

(2) Notification to the next of kin or other appropriate person.

(3) Preparation of the remains for burial, including cremation if requested by the person designated to direct disposition of the remains.

(4) Furnishing of a uniform or other clothing.

(5) Furnishing of a casket or urn, or both, with outside box.

(6) Hearse service.

(7) Funeral director’s services.

(8) Transportation of the remains, and roundtrip transportation and prescribed allowances for an escort of one person, to the place selected by the person designated to direct disposition of the remains or, if such a selection is not made, to a national or other cemetery which is selected by the Secretary and in which burial of the decedent is authorized. When transportation of the remains includes transportation by aircraft under section 562 of the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 (Public Law 109–364; 10 U.S.C. 1482 note ), the Secretary concerned shall provide, to the maximum extent practicable, for delivery of the remains by air to the commercial, general aviation, or military airport nearest to the place selected by the designee.

(9) Interment of the remains.

(b) If an individual pays any expense payable by the United States under this section, the Secretary concerned shall reimburse him or his representative in an amount not larger than that normally incurred by the Secretary in furnishing the supply or service concerned. If reimbursement by the United States is also authorized under another provision of law or regulation, the individual may elect under which provision to be reimbursed.

(c) Only the following persons may be designated to direct disposition of the remains of a decedent covered by this chapter:

(1) The surviving spouse of the decedent.

(2) Blood relatives of the decedent.

(3) Adoptive relatives of the decedent.

(4) If no person covered by clauses (1)–(3) can be found, a person standing in loco parentis to the decedent.

(d) When the remains of a decedent covered by section 1481 of this title, whose death occurs after January 1, 1961, are determined to be nonrecoverable, the person who would have been designated under subsection (c) to direct disposition of the remains if they had been recovered may be—

(1) presented with a flag of the United States; however, if the person designated by subsection (c) is other than a parent of the deceased member, a flag of equal size may also be presented to the parents, and

(2) reimbursed by the Secretary concerned for the necessary expenses of a memorial service.

However, the amount of the reimbursement shall be determined in the manner prescribed in subsection (b) for an interment, but may not be larger than that authorized when the United States provides the grave site. A claim for reimbursement under this subsection may be allowed only if it is presented within two years after the date of death or the date the person who would have been designated under subsection (c) to direct disposition of the remains, if they had been recovered, receives notification that the member has been reported or determined to be dead under authority of chapter 10 of title 37, whichever is later.

(e) Presentation of Flag of the United States.—

(1) In the case of a decedent covered by section 1481 of this title, the Secretary concerned may pay the necessary expenses for the presentation of a flag of the United States to the following persons:

(A) The person designated under subsection (c) to direct disposition of the remains of the decedent.

(B) The parents or parent of the decedent, if the person to be presented a flag under subparagraph (A) is other than a parent of the decedent.

(C) The surviving spouse of the decedent (including a surviving spouse who remarries after the decedent’s death), if the person to be presented a flag under subparagraph (A) is other than the surviving spouse.

(D) Each child of the decedent, regardless of whether the person to be presented a flag under subparagraph (A) is a child of the decedent.

(2) The Secretary concerned may pay the necessary expenses for the presentation of a flag to the person designated to direct the disposition of the remains of a member of the Reserve of an armed force under his jurisdiction who dies under honorable circumstances as determined by the Secretary and who is not covered by section 1481 of this title if, at the time of such member’s death, he—

(A) was a member of the Ready Reserve; or

(B) had performed at least twenty years of service as computed under section 12732 of this title and was not entitled to retired pay under section 12731 of this title.

(3) A flag to be presented to a person under subparagraph (B), (C), or (D) of paragraph (1) shall be of equal size to the flag presented under subparagraph (A) of such paragraph to the person designated to direct disposition of the remains of the decedent.

(4) This subsection does not apply to a military prisoner who dies while in the custody of the Secretary concerned and while under a sentence that includes a discharge.

(5) In this subsection:

(A) The term “parent” includes a natural parent, a stepparent, a parent by adoption, or a person who for a period of not less than one year before the death of the decedent stood in loco parentis to the decedent. Preference under paragraph (1)(B) shall be given to the persons who exercised a parental relationship at the time of, or most nearly before, the death of the decedent.

(B) The term “child” has the meaning prescribed by section 1477 (d) of this title.

(f) The payment of expenses incident to the recovery, care, and disposition of a decedent covered by section 1481 (a)(9) of this title is limited to the payment of expenses described in paragraphs (1) through (5) of subsection (a) and air transportation of the remains from a location outside the United States to a point of entry in the United States. Such air transportation may be provided without reimbursement on a space-available basis in military or military-chartered aircraft. The Secretary concerned shall pay all other expenses authorized to be paid under this subsection only on a reimbursable basis. Amounts reimbursed to the Secretary concerned under this subsection shall be credited to appropriations available, at the time of reimbursement, for the payment of such expenses.

U.S. Code

§ 1482. Expenses incident to death