AB43,771 Section 771. 45.51 (3) (c) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB43,,1921 45.51 (3) (c) 2. The department may deviate from this sequence upon order of the board to prevent the separation of a husband and wife spouses.

AB43,772 Section 772. 45.51 (5) (a) 1. b. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB43,,1923 45.51 (5) (a) 1. b. Was married to the person under sub. (2) (a) 1. or 2. at the time the person entered the service and who became a widow or widower surviving spouse by the death of the person while in the service or as a result of physical disability of the person incurred during the service.

AB43,773 Section 773. 45.51 (5) (a) 1. c. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB43,,1925 45.51 (5) (a) 1. c. The period during which the surviving spouse was married to and lived with the deceased person under sub. (2) (a) 1. or 2. plus the period of widowhood or widowerhood after the death of the deceased person is 6 months or more.

AB43,774 Section 774. 45.55 of the statutes is amended to read:

AB43,,1927 45.55 Notes and mortgages of minor veterans. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter or any other law to the contrary, any minor who served in the active armed forces of the United States at any time after August 27, 1940, and the husband or wife spouse of such a minor may execute, in his or her own right, notes or mortgages, as defined in s. 851.15, the payment of which is guaranteed or insured by the U.S. department of veterans affairs or the federal housing administrator under the servicemen’s readjustment act of 1944, the national housing act, or any acts supplementing or amending these acts. In connection with these transactions, the minors may sell, release, or convey the mortgaged property and litigate or settle controversies arising therefrom, including the execution of releases, deeds, and other necessary papers or instruments. The notes, mortgages, releases, deeds, and other necessary papers or instruments when so executed are not subject to avoidance by the minor or the husband or wife spouse of the minor upon either or both of them attaining the age of 18 because of the minority of either or both of them at the time of the execution thereof.

AB43,775 Section 775. 45.61 (2) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB43,,1929 45.61 (2) (a) A person who died while on active duty or who was discharged or released from active duty in the U.S. armed forces under conditions other than dishonorable and who was a resident of this state at the time of his or her entry into active service and his or her dependent child and surviving spouse.

AB43,776 Section 776. 45.61 (2) (am) of the statutes is repealed.

AB43,777 Section 777. 45.61 (2) (b) of the statutes is repealed.

AB43,778 Section 778. 45.61 (2) (c) (intro.) of the statutes is repealed.

AB43,779 Section 779. 45.61 (2) (c) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB43,,1934 45.61 (2) (c) 1. Is The spouse or dependent child of a person who is serving on active duty at the time of the spouse’s or dependent child’s death if the person was a resident of this state at the time of his or her entry or reentry into active service.

AB43,780 Section 780. 45.61 (2) (c) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB43,,1936 45.61 (2) (c) 2. Was a resident of this state at the time of his or her entry or reentry into active service and The spouse of a person who was discharged or released from active duty in the U.S. armed forces under honorable conditions.

AB43,781 Section 781. 45.61 (2) (c) 3. of the statutes is repealed.

AB43,782 Section 782. 45.61 (2) (d) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB43,,1939 45.61 (2) (d) A person who was a resident of this state at the time of his or her entry or reentry into service served in any a national guard or a reserve component of the U.S. armed forces or who was a resident of this state for at least 12 consecutive months immediately preceding his or her death, and the person’s spouse, surviving spouse, and dependent children, if the person is eligible for burial in a national cemetery under 38 USC 2402.

AB43,783 Section 783. 45.61 (2) (e) of the statutes is repealed.

AB43,784 Section 784. 45.61 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB43,,1942 45.61 (3) Fees and costs. The department may charge a fee for burials under this section and may promulgate rules for the assessment of any fee. The cost of preparing the grave and the erection of a marker for a person described under sub. (2) (a), (b), or (d), or (e) shall be paid from the appropriation under s. 20.485 (1) (gk).

AB43,785 Section 785. 45.61 (4) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB43,,1944 45.61 (4) (a) Application for burial shall be made to the department. The surviving spouse of the person described under sub. (2) (a), (b), or (d), or (e), if that person is interred at the Central Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery, shall have the privilege of selecting a plot next to that person if available. The department shall hold the plot for the surviving spouse for a period of one year from the date of granting the privilege, but may extend the hold, on request, for additional one-year periods.

AB43,786 Section 786. 45.61 (5) (a) of the statutes is renumbered 45.61 (5) and amended to read:

AB43,,1946 45.61 (5) Expenses incident to the burial under this section of persons described in sub. (2) (a) and (b) to (e) shall be paid from the estate of the decedent, except that if there is no estate or the estate is insufficient, the expense of burial, or necessary part of the burial, shall be paid from the appropriation accounts under s. 20.485 (4) (g), (m), or (q) or, for members of veterans homes, from the appropriation account under s. 20.485 (1) (gk) for members of veterans homes, and the. The amount expended for those expenses under this subsection shall not exceed the amount established for funeral and burial expenses under s. 49.785 (1) (b).

AB43,787 Section 787. 45.61 (5) (b) of the statutes is repealed.

AB43,788 Section 788. 45.82 (2) of the statutes is amended to read: