19-20-717. Effect of no designation or no surviving beneficiary. (1) If a beneficiary is not designated or if no designated beneficiary survives the payment recipient, the estate of the payment recipient is the beneficiary and is entitled to any lump-sum payment or retirement benefit accrued but not received prior to the death of the payment recipient. If the estate would not be probated but for the amount due from the retirement system, all of the amount due must be paid directly, without probate, to the surviving next of kin of the deceased or to the guardians of the survivor's estate, share and share alike.
     (2) Payment must be made in the same order in which the following groups are listed:
     (a) husband or wife;
     (b) children;
     (c) father and mother;
     (d) grandchildren;
     (e) brothers and sisters; or
     (f) nieces and nephews.
     (3) A payment may not be made to a person included in any of the groups listed in subsection (2) if at the date of payment there is a living person in any of the groups preceding the group of which the person is a member, as listed. Payment must be made upon receipt from the person of an affidavit, upon a form supplied by the system, that there are no living individuals in the groups preceding the group of which the person is a member and that the estate of the deceased will not be probated.
     (4) The payment must be in full and complete discharge and acquittance of the board and system on account of the member's or payment recipient's death.

     History: En. Sec. 4, Ch. 442, L. 1997.