§ 31-3-1 — (Operative If the Federal Government Creates a Space National Guard by 2025) Definitions

Alabama § 31-3-1

• Jurisdiction: Alabama
• Title 31: Military Affairs and Civil Defense
• Ch. 3: Compensation for Death of National Guardsmen

Text

(a) The following words and phrases when used in this chapter shall have the following meanings, respectively, unless the context shall clearly indicate a different meaning in the connection used:
(1) AWARDING AUTHORITY. The State Board of Adjustment, created and existing pursuant to Article 4 of Chapter 9 of Title 41 of this Code.
(2) CHILD or CHILDREN. Includes posthumous children and all other children entitled by law to inherit as children of the deceased, also stepchildren who were members of the family of the deceased at the time of his or her death, and dependent upon him or her for support, also a grandchild of the deceased Alabama national guardsman, whose parent is dead or is an invalid, and who was supported by and was a member of the family of the deceased grandparent at the time of his or her death.
(3) DEPENDENT CHILD. An unmarried child under the age of 18 years, or one over that age who is physically or mentally incapacitated from earning.
(4) ALABAMA NATIONAL GUARDSMEN. The officers and men and women commissioned or enlisted in the Alabama National Guard, army, air, or space, as defined in Section 31-2-3.
(b) For the purposes of this chapter, the following described persons shall be conclusively presumed to be wholly dependent:
(1) A spouse of an Alabama National Guardsman, unless it be shown that the spouse was voluntarily living apart from the national guardsman at the time of the national guardsman’s death, or unless it be shown that the national guardsman was not in any way contributing to his or her spouse’s support and had not in any way contributed to his or her spouse’s support for more than 12 months next preceding the occurrence of the injury causing the national guardsman’s death.
(2) Minor children under the age of 18 years and those, if physically and mentally incapacitated from earning, children 18 or more years of age.
(3) A husband, wife, child, mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, sister, brother, mother-in-law, and father-in-law who were wholly supported by the deceased Alabama national guardsman, at the time of the national guardsman’s death and for a reasonable period of time prior thereto, shall be considered his or her dependents and payment of compensation may be made to them as authorized in this chapter.
(c) Any member of the class named in subdivision (b)(3) who regularly derived part of his or her support from the earnings of the deceased Alabama national guardsman, at the time of death of the national guardsman and for a reasonable time immediately prior thereto, shall be considered a partial dependent of the national guardsman and payment of compensation may be made to the partial dependent as authorized in this chapter.

Legislative History

(Acts 1967, No. 436, p. 1105, §1; Act 2022-88, §1.)