H died on August 14, 1960 in Missouri. His widow gave birth to a child, C, on June 14, 1961. She applied for child’s social security benefits for C on H’s earnings record. She supplied a birth certificate, which had entries stating that H was C’s father and was born within 9 months of his death.

In order to resolve the discrepancy, additional information was sought to determine whether C was in fact H’s child. But H’s widow refused to allow her physician to provide any further statement, and did not provide any further evidence.

In situations such as this, whether or not C is established as H’s child is determined with reference to the law of the state in which the deceased was domiciled at the time of his death. In H’s case, this was the law of Missouri.

Under Missouri law, a child conceived during a marriage is presumed to be the natural child of the mother’s husband. This is a legal principle known as Lord Mansfield’s Rule. The presumptive could be rebutted by evidence to the contrary.

Missouri courts would also take judicial notice of a gestation period of 280 days, give or take a few days. But where, as here, the period of time between the husband’s death and the child’s birth is greater than 300 days, the presumption does not attach, and affirmative evidence of the deceased’s paternity is required.

Because H’s widow provided no such affirmative evidence of H’s paternity, child’s benefits were denied.

See Social Security Ruling (SSR) 62-35.

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.