Frank E. Miller and his wife Lucille Miller took custody of Lucille’s niece, Gertrude McAndrew. when Gertrude’s mother died in childbirth. The child’s father, Eugene McAndrew, handed the child to his sister Lucille, telling her “she’s yours.”
Frank and Lucille took full responsibility for the child’s health, education, and welfare and in most respects treated the child as their own. They expressed the desire to adopt Gertrude; however, the child’s natural father steadfastly refused to consent to an adoption, claiming that he wanted Gertrude to carry the same surname as her sister.
Frank did not name Gertrude as a beneficiary of his life insurance policies nor did he make any provision for her in his will. In his tax returns Frank listed Gertrude as “Lucille’s niece.”
Frank died in 2954 domiciled in Pennsylvania. After Frank died, Lucille applied for survivor’s social security insurance benefits on Frank’s earnings record, claiming that Gertrude qualified as Frank’s surviving daughter.
The claimant argued that the doctrine of equitable adoption applied, citing case law. However, the case cited by the claimant was distinguishable in that Ms. Kilby, a total stranger to the foster parents, had signed a written agreement that they could adopt her child and stated unequivocally “I do hereby relinquish all claim to the said girl.”
In the instant case there was no such agreement to adopt. The relationship between Frank and Gertrude was more consistent with an uncle-niece relationship or a godfather-godchild relationship than anything else. Moreover, Gertrude did not qualify to inherit from Frank under Pennsylvania law.
Under these circumstances, Gertrude could not be regarded as Frank’s child for social security purposes.
See Miller v. Ribicoff, 209 F. Supp. (E.D. Pa. 1962). See also Social Security Ruling (SSR) 63-50c
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.
