W had a child, C, who was born out of wedlock. Ten months later, in October 1950, W married H, who purported to be the child’s father. They lived in Alabama. Except for brief periods when W was not working, C lived with her grandmother.

H died in August 1960. W and C had received no financial support from H that year. In September 1960, C’s Grandma applied for child’s social security benefits based on H’s earnings record.

In determining whether C was J’s child Social Security needed to consult Alabama state law to decide whether C could inherit personal property from H pursuant to the state’s laws of intestate devolution.

Pursuant to Alabama law, C could inherit personal property from H because H had married the child’s mother, thus legitimating the child. All of the evidence showed that H was C’s father and, although C was born out of wedlock, W’s subsequent marriage to the child’s father,legitimated the child.

Even though H was not contributing to C’s support at the time of his death, because C was his legitimate child and had not been adopted by another person, C was deemed to be dependent upon H at the time of his death.

Held: C was entitled to child’s social security benefits based on H’s earnings record.

See Social Security Ruling (SSR) 61-64.

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