38 U.S.C. § 5507 — Inquiry, investigations, and qualification

Page 1081 TITLE 38—VETERANS’ BENEFITS § 5507 $500 limitations of subsection (b)(1) of such section 3203 [now 5503] as amended by this Act. If a competent vet- eran dies before payment is made the withheld amounts shall be paid according to the order of precedence, and subject to the time limitation, of subsection (a)(2) of such section 3203 [now 5503] in effect the day before the effective date of this Act. In the event of the death of an incompetent veteran before payment of all withheld amounts, no part of the remainder shall be payable.’’ [For effective date of Pub. L. 92–328, see Effective Date of 1972 Amendment notes set out under sections 1114, 1134, and 3713 of this title.] APPLICABILITY OF 1966 AMENDMENTS TO ANY PENSION ELIGIBILITY WHICH IS SUBJECT TO VETERANS’ PEN- SION ACT OF 1959 Pub. L. 89–362, § 3, Mar. 7, 1966, 80 Stat. 30, provided that: ‘‘The amendments made by this Act [amending this section] shall also apply to cases in which pension eligibility is subject to the provisions of section 9(b) of the Veterans’ Pension Act of 1959 [set out as a note under section 1521 of this title].’’ APPLICABILITY OF 1962 AMENDMENTS TO PERSONS NOT ELECTING PENSION UNDER VETERANS’ ACT OF 1959 Pub. L. 87–556, § 2(a), July 27, 1962, 76 Stat. 245, pro- vided that: ‘‘The amendments made by this Act [amending this section] shall not apply to cases in which pension is payable pursuant to sections 9(b) and (c) of the Veterans’ Pension Act of 1959 [set out as notes under section 1521 of this title].’’ Pub. L. 87–544, § 2, July 25, 1962, 76 Stat. 208, provided that: ‘‘The amendment made by this Act [amending this section] shall also apply to cases in which pension eligibility is subject to the provisions of section 9(b) of the Veterans’ Pension Act of 1959 [set out as notes under section 1521 of this title].’’ § 5504. Administration of trust funds All cash balances in the personal funds of pa- tients and the funds due incompetent bene- ficiaries trust funds administered by the Sec- retary, and all moneys received which are prop- erly for deposit into these funds, may be depos- ited, respectively, into deposit fund accounts with the United States Treasury and such bal- ances and deposits shall thereupon be available for disbursement for properly authorized pur- poses. When any balances have been on deposit with the Treasurer of the United States for more than one year and represent moneys belonging to individuals whose whereabouts are unknown, they shall be transferred and disposed of as di- rected in section 1322(a) of title 31. (Pub. L. 85–857, Sept. 2, 1958, 72 Stat. 1235, § 3204; Pub. L. 97–258, § 3(k)(5), Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 1065; renumbered § 5504, Pub. L. 102–40, title IV, § 402(b)(1), May 7, 1991, 105 Stat. 238; Pub. L. 102–83, § 4(a)(1), Aug. 6, 1991, 105 Stat. 403.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1991—Pub. L. 102–40 renumbered section 3204 of this title as this section. Pub. L. 102–83 substituted ‘‘administered by the Sec- retary’’ for ‘‘administered by the Veterans’ Adminis- tration’’. 1982—Pub. L. 97–258 substituted ‘‘section 1322(a) of title 31’’ for ‘‘the last proviso of subsection (a) of sec- tion 725s of title 31’’. [§ 5505. Repealed. Pub. L. 103–446, title XII, § 1201(g)(4)(A), Nov. 2, 1994, 108 Stat. 4687] Section, added Pub. L. 101–508, title VIII, § 8001(a)(1), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1388–341, § 3205; renumbered § 5505, Pub. L. 102–40, title IV, § 402(b)(1), May 7, 1991, 105 Stat. 238, related to limitation on compensation payments for certain incompetent veterans. § 5506. Definition of ‘‘fiduciary’’ For purposes of this chapter and chapter 61 of this title, the term ‘‘fiduciary’’ means— (1) a person who is a guardian, curator, con- servator, committee, or person legally vested with the responsibility or care of a claimant (or a claimant’s estate) or of a beneficiary (or a beneficiary’s estate); or (2) any other person having been appointed in a representative capacity to receive money paid under any of the laws administered by the Secretary for the use and benefit of a minor, incompetent, or other beneficiary. (Added Pub. L. 108–454, title V, § 501(a)(1), Dec. 10, 2004, 118 Stat. 3617.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective on the first day of the seventh month beginning after Dec. 10, 2004, see section 507(a) of Pub. L. 108–454, set out as an Effective Date of 2004 Amendment note under section 5312 of this title. § 5507. Inquiry, investigations, and qualification of fiduciaries (a) Any certification of a person for payment of benefits of a beneficiary to that person as such beneficiary’s fiduciary under section 5502 of this title shall be made on the basis of— (1) an inquiry or investigation by the Sec- retary of the fitness of that person to serve as fiduciary for that beneficiary, such inquiry or investigation— (A) to be conducted in advance of such cer- tification; (B) to the extent practicable, to include a face-to-face interview with such person; and (C) to the extent practicable, to include a copy of a credit report for such person issued within one year of the date of the proposed appointment; (2) adequate evidence that certification of that person as fiduciary for that beneficiary is in the interest of such beneficiary (as deter- mined by the Secretary under regulations); and (3) the furnishing of any bond that may be required by the Secretary. (b) As part of any inquiry or investigation of any person under subsection (a), the Secretary shall request information concerning whether that person has been convicted of any offense under Federal or State law which resulted in im- prisonment for more than one year. If that per- son has been convicted of such an offense, the Secretary may certify the person as a fiduciary only if the Secretary finds that the person is an appropriate person to act as fiduciary for the beneficiary concerned under the circumstances. (c)(1) In the case of a proposed fiduciary de- scribed in paragraph (2), the Secretary, in con- ducting an inquiry or investigation under sub- section (a)(1), may carry out such inquiry or in- vestigation on an expedited basis that may in- clude waiver of any specific requirement relat- Page 1082 TITLE 38—VETERANS’ BENEFITS § 5508 ing to such inquiry or investigation, including the otherwise applicable provisions of subpara- graphs (A), (B), and (C) of such subsection. Any such inquiry or investigation carried out on such an expedited basis shall be carried out under regulations prescribed for purposes of this section. (2) Paragraph (1) applies with respect to a pro- posed fiduciary who is— (A) the parent (natural, adopted, or step- parent) of a beneficiary who is a minor; (B) the spouse or parent of an incompetent beneficiary; (C) a person who has been appointed a fidu- ciary of the beneficiary by a court of com- petent jurisdiction; or (D) being appointed to manage an estate where the annual amount of veterans benefits to be managed by the proposed fiduciary does not exceed $3,600, as adjusted pursuant to sec- tion 5312 of this title. (d) TEMPORARY FIDUCIARIES.—When in the opinion of the Secretary, a temporary fiduciary is needed in order to protect the assets of the beneficiary while a determination of incom- petency is being made or appealed or a fiduciary is appealing a determination of misuse, the Sec- retary may appoint one or more temporary fidu- ciaries for a period not to exceed 120 days. If a final decision has not been made within 120 days, the Secretary may not continue the ap- pointment of the fiduciary without obtaining a court order for appointment of a guardian, con- servator, or other fiduciary under the authority provided in section 5502(b) of this title. (Added Pub. L. 108–454, title V, § 502(a), Dec. 10, 2004, 118 Stat. 3618.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective on the first day of the seventh month beginning after Dec. 10, 2004, see section 507(a) of Pub. L. 108–454, set out as an Effective Date of 2004 Amendment note under section 5312 of this title. § 5508. Periodic onsite reviews of institutional fi- duciaries In addition to such other reviews of fiduciaries as the Secretary may otherwise conduct, the Secretary shall provide for the periodic onsite review of any person or agency located in the United States that receives the benefits payable under laws administered by the Secretary to an- other individual pursuant to the appointment of such person or agency as a fiduciary under sec- tion 5502(a)(1) of this title in any case in which the fiduciary is serving in that capacity with re- spect to more than 20 beneficiaries and the total annual amount of such benefits exceeds $50,000, as adjusted pursuant to section 5312 of this title. (Added Pub. L. 108–454, title V, § 504(a)(1), Dec. 10, 2004, 118 Stat. 3620.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective on the first day of the seventh month beginning after Dec. 10, 2004, see section 507(a) of Pub. L. 108–454, set out as an Effective Date of 2004 Amendment note under section 5312 of this title. § 5509. Authority to require fiduciary to receive payments at regional offices of the Depart- ment when failing to provide required ac- counting (a) REQUIRED REPORTS AND ACCOUNTINGS.—The Secretary may require a fiduciary to file a re- port or accounting pursuant to regulations pre- scribed by the Secretary. (b) ACTIONS UPON FAILURE TO FILE.—In any case in which a fiduciary fails to submit a report or accounting required by the Secretary under subsection (a), the Secretary may, after fur- nishing notice to such fiduciary and the bene- ficiary entitled to such payment of benefits, re- quire that such fiduciary appear in person at a regional office of the Department serving the area in which the beneficiary resides in order to receive such payments. (Added Pub. L. 108–454, title V, § 504(a)(1), Dec. 10, 2004, 118 Stat. 3621.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective on the first day of the seventh month beginning after Dec. 10, 2004, see section 507(a) of Pub. L. 108–454, set out as an Effective Date of 2004 Amendment note under section 5312 of this title. § 5510. Annual report The Secretary shall include in the Annual Benefits Report of the Veterans Benefits Admin- istration or the Secretary’s Annual Performance and Accountability Report information con- cerning fiduciaries who have been appointed to receive payments for beneficiaries of the De- partment. As part of such information, the Sec- retary shall separately set forth the following: (1) The number of beneficiaries in each cat- egory (veteran, surviving spouse, child, adult disabled child, or parent). (2) The types of benefit being paid (com- pensation, pension, dependency and indemnity compensation, death pension or benefits pay- able to a disabled child under chapter 18 of this title). (3) The total annual amounts and average annual amounts of benefits paid to fiduciaries for each category and type of benefit. (4) The number of fiduciaries who are the spouse, parent, legal custodian, court-ap- pointed fiduciary, institutional fiduciary, cus- todian in fact, and supervised direct payees. (5) The number of cases in which the fidu- ciary was changed by the Secretary because of a finding that benefits had been misused. (6) How such cases of misuse of benefits were addressed by the Secretary. (7) The final disposition of such cases of mis- use of benefits, including the number and dol- lar amount of any benefits reissued to bene- ficiaries. (8) The number of fiduciary cases referred to the Office of the Inspector General and the na- ture of the actions taken by the Inspector General. (9) The total amount of money recovered by the Government in cases arising from the mis- use of benefits by a fiduciary. (10) Such other information as the Secretary considers appropriate.