22 U.S.C. § 2715c — Conservation and disposition of estates

Page 1154 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 2715c ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCE IN ARRANGEMENTS FOLLOWING DEATH OF UNITED STATES CITIZEN ABROAD Pub. L. 95–426, title I, § 121, Oct. 7, 1978, 92 Stat. 970, as amended by Pub. L. 97–241, title V, § 505(a)(2), (b)(1), Aug. 24, 1982, 96 Stat. 299, provided that: ‘‘The Congress finds that the Department of State should, in the per- formance of its consular duties, render all reasonable administrative assistance to a United States citizen who is making necessary arrangements following the death of another United States citizen abroad.’’ § 2715c. Conservation and disposition of estates (a) Conservation of estates abroad (1) Authority to act as conservator Whenever a United States citizen or na- tional dies abroad, a consular officer shall act as the provisional conservator of the portion of the decedent’s estate located abroad and, subject to paragraphs (3), (4), and (5), shall— (A) take possession of the personal effects of the decedent within his jurisdiction; (B) inventory and appraise the personal ef- fects of the decedent, sign the inventory, and annex thereto a certificate as to the accu- racy of the inventory and appraised value of each article; (C) when appropriate in the exercise of prudent administration, collect the debts due to the decedent in the officer’s jurisdic- tion and pay from the estate the obligations owed by the decedent; (D) sell or dispose of, as appropriate, in the exercise of prudent administration, all per- ishable items of property; (E) sell, after reasonable public notice and notice to such next of kin as can be ascertained with reasonable diligence, such additional items of property as necessary to provide funds sufficient to pay the dece- dent’s debts and property taxes in the coun- try of death, funeral expenses, and other ex- penses incident to the disposition of the es- tate; (F) upon the expiration of the one-year pe- riod beginning on the date of death (or after such additional period as may be required for final settlement of the estate), if no claimant shall have appeared, after reason- able public notice and notice to such next of kin as can be ascertained with reasonable diligence, sell or dispose of the residue of the personal estate, except as provided in sub- paragraph (G), in the same manner as United States Government-owned foreign excess property; (G) transmit to the custody of the Sec- retary of State in Washington, D.C. the pro- ceeds of any sales, together with all finan- cial instruments (including bonds, shares of stock, and notes of indebtedness), jewelry, heirlooms, and other articles of obvious sen- timental value, to be held in trust for the legal claimant; and (H) in the event that the decedent’s estate includes an interest in real property located within the jurisdiction of the officer and such interest does not devolve by the appli- cable laws of intestate succession or other- wise, provide for title to the property to be conveyed to the Government of the United States unless the Secretary declines to ac- cept such conveyance. (2) Authority to act as administrator Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), a consular officer may act as administrator of an estate in exceptional circumstances if expressly au- thorized to do so by the Secretary of State. (3) Exceptions The responsibilities described in paragraphs (1) and (2) may not be performed to the extent that the decedent has left or there is otherwise appointed, in the country where the death oc- curred or where the decedent was domiciled, a legal representative, partner in trade, or trustee appointed to take care of his personal estate. If the decedent’s legal representative shall appear at any time prior to transmission of the estate to the Secretary and demand the proceeds and effects being held by the consular officer, the officer shall deliver them to the representative after having collected any pre- scribed fee for the services performed under this section. (4) Additional requirement In addition to being subject to the limita- tions in paragraph (3), the responsibilities de- scribed in paragraphs (1) and (2) may not be performed unless— (A) authorized by treaty provisions or per- mitted by the laws or authorities of the country wherein the death occurs, or the de- cedent is domiciled; or (B) permitted by established usage in that country. (5) Statutory construction Nothing in this section supersedes or other- wise affects the authority of any military commander under title 10 with respect to the person or property of any decedent who died while under a military command or jurisdic- tion or the authority of the Peace Corps with respect to a Peace Corps volunteer or the vol- unteer’s property. (b) Disposition of estates by the Secretary of State (1) Personal estates (A) In general After receipt of a personal estate pursuant to subsection (a), the Secretary may seek payment of all outstanding debts to the es- tate as they become due, may receive any balances due on such estate, may endorse all checks, bills of exchange, promissory notes, and other instruments of indebtedness pay- able to the estate for the benefit thereof, and may take such other action as is reason- ably necessary for the conservation of the estate. (B) Disposition as surplus United States property If, upon the expiration of a period of 5 fis- cal years beginning on October 1 after a con- sular officer takes possession of a personal estate under subsection (a), no legal claim- ant for such estate has appeared, title to the estate shall be conveyed to the United States, the property in the estate shall be under the custody of the Department of State, and the Secretary shall dispose of the Page 1155 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 2717 1 See References in Text note below. estate in the same manner as surplus United States Government-owned property is dis- posed or by such means as may be appro- priate in light of the nature and value of the property involved. The expenses of sales shall be paid from the estate, and any lawful claim received thereafter shall be payable to the extent of the value of the net proceeds of the estate as a refund from the appropriate Treasury appropriations account. (C) Transfer of proceeds The net cash estate after disposition as provided in subparagraph (B) shall be trans- ferred to the miscellaneous receipts account of the Treasury of the United States. (2) Real property (A) Designation as excess property In the event that title to real property is conveyed to the Government of the United States pursuant to subsection (a)(1)(H) and is not required by the Department of State, such property shall be considered foreign ex- cess property under title IV of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949.1 (B) Treatment as gift In the event that the Department requires such property, the Secretary of State shall treat such property as if it were an uncondi- tional gift accepted on behalf of the Depart- ment of State under section 2697 of this title and section 300(a)(3) of this title. (c) Losses in connection with the conservation of estates (1) Authority to compensate The Secretary is authorized to compensate the estate of any United States citizen who has died overseas for property— (A) the conservation of which has been un- dertaken under section 2715 of this title or subsection (a) of this section; and (B) that has been lost, stolen, or destroyed while in the custody of officers or employees of the Department of State. (2) Liability (A) Exclusion of personal liability after pro- vision of compensation Any such compensation shall be in lieu of personal liability of officers or employees of the Department of State. (B) Liability to the Department An officer or employee of the Department of State may be liable to the Department of State to the extent of any compensation pro- vided under paragraph (1). (C) Determinations of liability The liability of any officer or employee of the Department of State to the Department for any payment made under subsection (a) shall be determined pursuant to the Depart- ment’s procedures for determining account- ability for United States Government prop- erty. (d) Regulations The Secretary of State may prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this section. (Aug. 1, 1956, ch. 841, title I, § 43B, as added Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, § 1000(a)(7) [div. A, title II, § 234(b)], Nov. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1536, 1501A–427.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, referred to in subsec. (b)(2)(A), is act June 30, 1949, ch. 288, 63 Stat. 377. Title IV of the Act, which was classified generally to subchapter III (§ 511 et seq.) of chapter 10 of former Title 40, Public Buildings, Prop- erty, and Works, was repealed and reenacted by Pub. L. 107–217, §§ 1, 6(b), Aug. 21, 2002, 116 Stat. 1062, 1304, as chapter 7 (§ 701 et seq.) of Title 40, Public Buildings, Property, and Works. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective six months after Nov. 29, 1999, see section 1000(a)(7) [title II, § 234(c)] of Pub. L. 106–113, set out as a note under section 2715b of this title. § 2716. Debt collection (a) Contract authority (1) Subject to the availability of appropria- tions, the Secretary of State shall enter into contracts for collection services to recover in- debtedness owed by a person, other than a for- eign country, to the United States which arises out of activities of the Department of State and is delinquent by more than 90 days. (2) Each contract entered into under this sec- tion shall provide that the person with whom the Secretary enters into such contract shall submit to the Secretary at least once every 180 days a status report on the success of the person in collecting debts. Section 3718 of title 31 shall apply to any such contract to the extent that such section is not inconsistent with this sub- section. (b) Disclosure of delinquent debt to credit re- porting agencies The Secretary of State shall, to the extent otherwise allowed by law, disclose to those cred- it reporting agencies to which the Secretary re- ports loan activity information concerning any debt of more than $100 owed by a person, other than a foreign country, to the United States which arises out of activities of the Department of State and is delinquent by more than 31 days. (Aug. 1, 1956, ch. 841, title I, § 44, as added Pub. L. 101–246, title I, § 117(2), Feb. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 25.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 44 of act Aug. 1, 1956, was renumbered section 45 by section 117(1) of Pub. L. 101–246, and subse- quently renumbered, and set out as a Short Title of 1956 Amendment note under section 2651 of this title, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 102–138, title I, § 111(1), Oct. 28, 1991, 105 Stat. 654. § 2717. Defense trade controls registration fees For each fiscal year, 100 percent of the reg- istration fees collected by the Office of Defense