SECTION 132.12. Redistribution of Death Benefits

(a) Death benefits shall be redistributed if a legal beneficiary dies or becomes ineligible to receive benefits. The benefits shall be redistributed to the remaining legal beneficiaries eligible to receive death benefits at the time of death of the employee.

(b) If an eligible spouse becomes disqualified from continued payment of death benefits because of remarriage, the amount of benefits paid to each remaining legal beneficiary shall remain the same for 104 weeks. At the expiration of 104 weeks, the amount of benefits paid to each remaining legal beneficiary shall be recalculated as provided in §132.11 of this title (relating to Distribution of Death Benefits).

(c) If 364 weeks of death benefit payments have not been paid and the only remaining legal beneficiary is the subsequent injury fund, the insurance carrier shall pay any remaining amounts to the subsequent injury fund in accordance with §132.10 of this title (relating to Payment of Death Benefits to the Subsequent Injury Fund).

(d) In no case shall the insurance carrier pay an amount less than the weekly death benefit multiplied by 364, taking into consideration the discount rate set out in the Texas Workers' Compensation Act, §1.04, for a commuted payment to the subsequent injury fund in subsection (c) of this section.

Source Note: The provisions of this §132.12 adopted to be effective January 1, 1991, 15 TexReg 7023.