A worker F, and his wife were divorced in 1955. They gave their child C, to the maternal grandparents, who later adopted C in 1960.

F did not reside with C or contribute to his financial support. He would send him $5 or so on Christmas and Easter.

F died on September 10th 1964, fully insured for social security purposes.

On September 20th 1964, C’s adopting mother, G, filed for child’s social security benefits for C on his natural father’s earnings record.

For social security purposes, the term “child” means the child, the legally adopted child, or in certain circumstances, the stepchild of an insured individual.

In determining whether an applicant is the child of the insured, reference is made to the law of the state in which the insured was domiciled at the date of death. If the applicant qualifies to inherit personal property from the deceased under that state’s laws of intestate succession, then he or she is considered to be the child of the insured.

Under the inheritance laws of Alabama, where F was domiciled at the time of his death, an adopted child retains the right to inherit from their natural parents.

Thus, C was considered to be F’s child for social security purposes.

But the inquiry does not end there. The child must have been dependent upon the worker for support. But F did not reside with C, nor did he contribute to C’s support (the occasional holiday monetary gifts were too infrequent and insubstantial to count as support).

Thus, even though C was F’s child, unfortunately, he was not entitled to child’s social security benefits based on F’s earnings record.

See Social Security Ruling (SSR) 66-2.

This material should not be construed as legal advice for any particular fact situation, but is intended for general informational purposes only. For advice specific to any individual situation, an experienced attorney should be contacted.