111-18.1. Award and assistance checks payable to decedents.
(a) In the event of the death of a recipient of an award made pursuant to G.S. 111-18 during or after the first day of the month for which the award was authorized to be paid, any check or checks in payment of such award made payable to the deceased recipient and not endorsed prior to the payee's death shall be delivered to the clerk of the superior court and be by him administered under the provisions of G.S. 28A-25-6.
(b) In the event of the death of a recipient of a cash payment service that was rendered as part of a program of public assistance for the blind or visually impaired, any check issued for the payment of that service made payable to that recipient, but not endorsed prior to the recipient's death, shall be returned to the issuing agency and made void. The issuing agency shall then issue a check payable to the provider of the service for the sum remaining due for this service, not to exceed the amount of the returned and voided check.