(a) When any veteran or member, as those terms are defined in subsection (g) of this section, dies, not having sufficient estate to pay the necessary expenses of the veteran’s or member’s last sickness and funeral expenses, as determined by the Commissioner of Veterans Affairs after consultation with the probate court for the district in which the veteran or member resided, the state shall pay the sum of one thousand eight hundred dollars toward such funeral expenses.

(b) Burial shall be in a cemetery or plot not used exclusively for the burial of the pauper dead.

(c) No amount shall be paid for funeral expenses unless claim therefor is made not later than one year after the date of death, except that in cases of death occurring abroad such claim may be made within one year after the remains of the veteran or member have been interred in this country. No provision of this section shall prevent the payment of the sum under subsection (a) of this section for funeral expenses on account of the burial of the veteran or member being made outside the limits of this state.

(d) Upon satisfactory proof to the commissioner, by the person who has paid or provided for the funeral expenses of a deceased veteran, of the identity of the veteran, the time and place of the veteran’s death and burial and the approval thereof by the commissioner, the sum under subsection (a) of this section shall be paid by the Comptroller to such person who has paid or provided for the funeral expenses.

(e) (1) Upon satisfactory proof to the commissioner, by the person who has paid or provided for the funeral expenses of a deceased member, of the identity of the member, the time and place of the member’s death and burial and the approval thereof by the commissioner, the sum under subsection (a) of this section shall be paid by the Comptroller to the person who has paid or provided for the funeral expenses.

(2) The person who has paid or provided for the funeral expenses of a deceased member shall provide to the commissioner (A) an affidavit stating (i) when the member served, (ii) where the member served, (iii) the unit in which the member served, and (iv) the capacity in which the member served; (B) any available corroborating witness affidavits; (C) any available official documentation of service; and (D) any other documents supporting the affidavit.

(f) Whenever the Comptroller has lawfully paid any sum toward the funeral expenses of any deceased veteran or member and it afterwards appears that the veteran or member left any estate, the Comptroller may present a claim on behalf of the state against the estate of such veteran or member for the sum so paid, and the claim shall be a preferred claim against such estate and shall be paid to the Treasurer. The commissioner, upon the advice of the Attorney General, may make application for administration upon the estate of any such veteran or member if no other person authorized by law makes such application within sixty days after such payment has been made by the Comptroller.

(g) As used in this section, (1) “veteran” has the same meaning as provided in § 27-103, (2) “member” means any person who served in the Hmong Laotian special guerilla units, which units served in the United States secret war in the Kingdom of Laos during the Vietnam War, and (3) “funeral expenses” means (A) the cash advances paid by the funeral director and the cost of funeral services and funeral merchandise, (B) the cost of burial, cremation or disposition, and (C) the cost of publication of an obituary. “Funeral merchandise” includes, but is not limited to, alternative containers, caskets, urns, vaults and outer burial containers.