38 U.S.C. § 1918 — Assignments

(a) Assignments of all or any part of the beneficiary’s interest may be made by a designated beneficiary to a widow^*, widower^*, child^*, father^*, mother^*, grandfather, grandmother, brother, or sister of the insured, when the designated contingent beneficiary, if any, joins the beneficiary in the assignment, and if the assignment is delivered to the Secretary^* before any payments of the insurance^* must have been made to the beneficiary. However, an interest in an annuity, when assigned, must be payable in equal monthly installments in that multiple of twelve as most nearly equals the number of installments certain under that annuity, or in two hundred and forty installments, whichever is the lesser. The provisions of this subsection must not be applicable to insurance maturing after July 26, 1962 .

(b) Except as to insurance granted under the provisions of section 1922(b) of this title , any person to whom insurance maturing after July 26, 1962 , is payable may assign all or any portion of that person’s interest in that insurance to a widow, widower, child, father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, brother, or sister of the insured when the designated contingent beneficiary, if any, joins the beneficiary in the assignment. that joinder must not be required in any case in which the insurance proceeds are payable in a lump sum.