District of Columbia Code Division I. Government of District. § 1-622.08. Death claims; order of precedence; viatical settlements.

(1) To the beneficiary or beneficiaries designated by the employee or annuitant in a signed and witnessed writing executed and filed before death;

(2) If there is no designated beneficiary, to the widow or widower of the employee or annuitant;

(3) If none of the above, to the child or children of the employee or annuitant and descendants of a deceased child or children by representation;

(4) If none of the above, to the parents or parent of the employee or annuitant;

(5) If none of the above, to the duly appointed personal representative of the estate of the employee or annuitant; or

(6) If none of the above, to the other next of kin of the employee or annuitant under the laws of the domicile of the employee or annuitant at the date of death.

(a-1)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, pursuant to rules and regulations prescribed by the Mayor, each policy purchased pursuant to § 1-623.5 shall provide that an insured employee or former employee who is terminally ill may make a viatical settlement, which is an irrevocable assignment of all the employee's or former employee's incidents of ownership in the policy. The assignment shall automatically cancel any designation of beneficiary the insured person might have made, and the insured person shall no longer have the right to designate a beneficiary. The assignee shall assume the right to convert the insurance when the insured employee's employment circumstances would have provided this option to the insured employee.

(2) The assignment shall exclude accidental dismemberment insurance and family optional insurance.