This article reports on a conflict between divorced parents over the remains of their son, who was killed in Iraq. Because of the growing number of such cases, Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., introduced this legislation earlier this month that would require soldiers to designate someone to handle their funeral arrangements. According to this article, the Department of Defense currently has the following policy in place:
Spouses of slain service members have first claim to the remains. If the victim is unmarried, the body goes to children over 18 in order of age. If the victim has no children over 18, remains go to parents in order of seniority, unless one parent was granted sole legal custody.
Source: Death & Taxes – The Blog