(a) In general. For any request to the Department by the estate of a deceased claimant, the personal representative of the estate, who will be the authorized representative for purposes of defined monetary assistance from the Reserve, shall be determined as follows:
(1) First preference will be given to an individual appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction as the personal representative of the deceased claimant or as the executor or administrator of the deceased claimant's will or estate.
(2) In the event that no personal representative or executor or administrator has been appointed by any court of competent jurisdiction, and such issue is not the subject of pending litigation or other dispute, the next preferred personal representative for purposes of defined monetary assistance from the Reserve will be the person named by the deceased claimant in the deceased claimant's will as the executor or administrator of the deceased claimant's estate.
(3) In the event that no will exists, the next preference for personal representative for purposes of defined monetary assistance from the Reserve will be the first person in the line of succession for inheritance established by the laws of the deceased claimant's domicile governing intestacy. In the case where State law provides for two or more persons to inherit in equal shares (e.g., parents or siblings), the defined monetary assistance payment will be split accordingly.
(4) In the event that none of the individuals described in paragraphs (a)(1) through (3) of this section are available to serve as personal representative, any other person may seek to be appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction as the personal representative for purposes of defined monetary assistance from the Reserve. Upon appointment, that person will serve as personal representative.
(b) Notice to beneficiaries. (1) Any purported personal representative must, before submitting a request to the Department, provide written notice of the intent to submit a request and the procedures in paragraph (c) of this section to object to such status as personal representative to the immediate family of the deceased claimant; to the executor, administrator, and beneficiaries of the deceased claimant's will; and to any other persons who may reasonably be expected to assert an interest in an award or to have a cause of action to recover damages relating to the wrongful death of the deceased claimant.
(2) Personal delivery or transmission by certified mail, return receipt requested, shall be deemed sufficient notice under this subpart. The purported personal representative must certify that such notice (or other notice that the Department deems appropriate) has been given.
(c) Objections to personal representatives. Objections to the authority of an individual to file as the personal representative of a deceased claimant may be submitted to the Department, as instructed on the Department's website for this program, by parties who assert a financial interest in the award. Any such objection must be submitted within 30 days following receipt of notice by the personal representative as defined under this section. If timely submitted, such objections shall be treated as evidence of a “dispute” under paragraph (d) of this section.
(d) Disputes as to the identity of the personal representative. The Department will not, and shall not be required to, arbitrate, litigate, or otherwise resolve any dispute as to the identity of the personal representative. In the event of a dispute over the appropriate personal representative, the Department may suspend or return a request to the claimant without prejudice to its later resubmission and may withhold any payment until the dispute is resolved either by agreement of the disputing parties or by a court of competent jurisdiction. Alternatively, the disputing parties may agree in writing to the identity of a personal representative to act on their behalf, who may seek and accept defined monetary assistance from the Reserve while the disputing parties work to settle their dispute.