If OWCP determines that an employee’s death qualifies for the death gratuity, the FECA provides that the death gratuity payment will be disbursed to the living survivor(s) highest on the following list:

(a) The employee’s surviving spouse.

(b) The employee’s children, in equal shares.

(c) The employee’s parents, brothers, and sisters, or any combination of them, if designated by the employee pursuant to the designation procedures in § 10.909.

(d) The employee’s parents, in equal shares.

(e) The employee’s brothers and sisters, in equal shares.