38 CFR 21.5067: Death of participant.

(a) Disposition of unused contributions. If an individual dies, the Department of Veterans Affairs shall pay the amount of his or her unused contributions to the fund to the living person or persons in the order listed in this paragraph.

(1) The beneficiary or beneficiaries designated by the individual under the individual's Servicemen's Group Life Insurance policy;

(2) The surviving spouse of the individual;

(3) The surviving child or children of the individual, in equal shares;

(4) The surviving parent or parents of the individual in equal shares.

(b) Payments to the individual's estate. If none of the persons listed in paragraph (a) of this section is living, the Department of Veterans Affairs shall pay the amount of the individual's unused contributions to the fund to the individual's estate.

(c) Payments of accrued benefits. Educational assistance remaining due and unpaid at the date of the veteran's death is payable under the provisions of § 3.1000 of this chapter. For this purpose accrued benefits include the portion of the benefit represented by the individual's contribution as well as the portion included by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense.