W and R were married in 1916 in Pennsylvania. In 1943 they separated. W divorced R in a jurisdiction outside of Pennsylvania, in which neither party was domiciled. Under Pennsylvania law, such a divorce was invalid.

R died in 1953, while still domiciled in Pennsylvania. He was fully insured for social security purposes. W applied for widow’s social security benefits in May 1961, when she attained age 62. She asserted that she was still married to R at the time of his death because the out of state divorce was invalid.

In order to qualify for benefits W needed to show, among other requirements all of which were met, that she was: 1) R’s spouse at the time of his death, or 2) she qualified to inherit personal property from R as his surviving spouse under the laws of intestate succession of the state in which R was domiciled at the time of his death.

Under Pennsylvania law a person was estopped from asserting the invalidity of a divorce in actions involving private claims or demands arising out of the marriage. But the person is not estopped from asserting the invalidity of the divorce in actions directly affecting his or her marital status.

Since W was not estopped from asserting the invalidity of the divorce in every case, she was considered R’s widow for social security purposes and was entitled to widow’s benefits.

See Social Security Ruling (SSR) 64-4.

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.