B-134584, NOV. 16, 1960

B-134584, NOV. 16, 1960

TO MRS. DELORES B. ALCALA:

REFERENCE IS MADE TO LETTER DATED OCTOBER 26, 1960, AND ENCLOSURE, SIGNED BY YOU AND MR. HARRIS H. LOVELY, SERVICE OFFICER, VETERANS COUNTY SERVICE OFFICE, COUNTY OF NUECES, CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS, CONCERNING YOUR CLAIM FOR THE BALANCE DUE THE ESTATE OF YOUR LATE SON, ALBERTO B. GARZA, AS OF JANUARY 19, 1954, THE DATE OF THE RECEIPT OF EVIDENCE OF HIS DEATH WHILE SERVING AS SERGEANT FIRST CLASS, UNITED STATES ARMY.

SETTLEMENT DATED NOVEMBER 10, 1954, ALLOWED YOU ONE-HALF OF THE TOTAL AMOUNT DUE, AND YOU WERE ADVISED THAT THE REMAINING ONE-HALF WAS RESERVED FOR YOUR SON'S FATHER. BY DECISION OF JANUARY 20, 1958, B 134584, WE ADVISED YOU IN DETAIL AS TO THE REASONS WHY PAYMENT OF THE AMOUNT RESERVED FOR THE FATHER COULD NOT BE MADE TO YOU, AND THAT, IN THE ABSENCE OF A CLAIM FROM THE FATHER, OR A SHOWING THAT HE IS DEAD, OR DECLARED DEAD BY A COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION, PAYMENT OF THE RESERVED AMOUNT COULD BE MADE ONLY TO A DULY APPOINTED LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE OF YOUR SON'S ESTATE, THAT IS, AN EXECUTOR OR ADMINISTRATOR.

WITH THE LETTER DATED OCTOBER 26, 1960, YOU FURNISHED A CERTIFIED COPY OF A CERTIFICATE OF DEATH FILED IN THE DIVISION OF VITAL STATISTICS, CORPUS CHRISTI-NUECES COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT, CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS, WHICH, YOU STATE, SHOWS THAT YOUR COMMON-LAW HUSBAND, ALBERTO, R. GARZA, PASSED AWAY ON FEBRUARY 14, 1955. THE CERTIFICATE SHOWS THAT ONE ALBERTO (MIDDLE NAME LISTED AS ,NONE") GARZA, MALE, WHITE, BORN SEPTEMBER 15, 1909, WHO WAS "NEVER MARRIED," AND WHOSE USUAL OCCUPATION WAS THAT OF LABORER, DIED IN CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS, ON FEBRUARY 14, 1955. HOWEVER, THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE FILED WITH YOUR ORIGINAL CLAIM SHOWS THAT YOUR HUSBAND WAS 31 YEARS OF AGE WHEN YOUR SON WAS BORN IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, ON JANUARY 4, 1932, AND THAT HIS USUAL OCCUPATION WAS THAT OF GARAGE MECHANIC. SUCH INFORMATION INDICATES THAT HE WAS BORN IN 1900. IN VIEW OF THE DIFFERENCES IN THE STATEMENT OF FACTS IN THE TWO DOCUMENTS, THE CERTIFICATE OF DEATH MAY NOT BE ACCEPTED AS ESTABLISHING THE DEATH OF YOUR COMMON-LAW HUSBAND.

ACCORDINGLY, IN THE ABSENCE OF A SHOWING THAT THE FATHER HAS BEEN DECLARED DEAD BY A COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION, OR SATISFACTORY EVIDENCE THAT HE IS NO LONGER ALIVE, WE CAN TAKE NO FURTHER ACTION ON YOUR CLAIM. AS YOU HAVE BEEN ADVISED, THE AMOUNT RESERVED FOR THE FATHER MIGHT BE PAID TO A DULY APPOINTED LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE OF YOUR SON'S ESTATE, PROVIDED THAT A CLAIM FROM THE FATHER HAS NOT BEEN RECEIVED AND SETTLED IN THE MEANTIME.