22 C.F.R. § 72.31 Action when immediate possession is impracticable.
Title 22 - Foreign Relations
The law imposes no affirmative obligation upon the consular officer to travel long distances for the purpose of taking on-the-spot possession of a personal estate. If occasion to visit the locality where the death occurred coincides with the need to take action, the consular officer should avail himself of the occasion to assume custody of the effects. Normally, however, the consular officer's initial responsibility in such cases does not extend beyond reasonable efforts to obtain possession of the estate. He should communicate with the persons, officials, or organizations having custody of the effects, requesting that the effects be delivered to him, at the expense of the estate, for lawful disposition. If the local authorities should decline to surrender possession to the consular officer in a case where he feels that his right to take possession is clear, he may refer the matter to the mission. The consular officer's personal responsibility for any given item among the personal effects commences only when that item reaches his hand.
Title 22: Foreign Relations
PART 72—DEATHS AND ESTATES
Personal Estates of Deceased Citizens
§ 72.31 Action when immediate possession is impracticable.
