QUESTION PRESENTED
You asked us to determine if claimants, minors A~ and S~, would be able to inherit
from C~ (NH) pursuant to West Virginia intestacy law, and thus entitled to surviving
child’s insurance benefits on the record of the NH when the NH’s parental rights were
terminated with respect to the claimants prior to his death?
CONCLUSION
We believe that West Virginia law would not recognize a parent-child relationship
between the NH and the claimant following the termination of the NH’s parental rights,
and thus does not allow the claimants to inherit from the NH through intestacy. Therefore,
we believe that the claimants are not entitled to surviving child’s insurance benefits
on NH’s record.
BACKGROUND
On January XX, 2011, the Circuit Court of C~ County, West Virginia issued a final
Dispositional Hearing Order (Order) permanently terminating the parental rights of
NH with respect to the claimants. The NH’s parental rights were involuntarily terminated
pursuant to West Virginia’s Child Welfare Act on the grounds of abuse and neglect.
Although the Order appears to continue the NH’s child support obligations to his other
biological children with a different biological mother, the Order does not continue
the NH’s child support obligations to the claimants. The Order also awards physical
and legal care, custody, and control of the claimants to their biological mother,
J~. On August XX, 2016, the NH died in his state of domicile, West Virginia.
On September XX, 2016, the claimants’ biological mother, J~, filed an application
on the record of the NH for surviving child’s benefits on behalf of the claimants.
The claimants were not adopted by a third party during the NH’s lifetime.
DISCUSSION
To qualify for child’s insurance benefits on the earnings record of an insured individual
who has died, a claimant must be that individual’s “child.” See Social Security Act (Act) § 202(d);
20 C.F.R. § 404.350(a)(1). A claimant can qualify as the insured individual’s natural
child if the claimant could inherit from the insured individual as his child. See Act § 216(h)(2)(A);
20 C.F.R. § 404.355(a)(1), (b). To determine if a claimant could inherit from the
insured individual, the Social Security Administration applies the intestacy laws
of the state where the insured had his permanent home when he died. See Act § 216(h)(2)(A); 20 C.F.R. § 404.355(a)(1), (b)(1). Because NH was domiciled in
West Virginia when he died, we look to West Virginia law to determine whether the
claimants could inherit from the NH as his children. Act § 216(h)(2)(A); 20 C.F.R.
§ 404.355 (b)(4).
Neither the West Virginia’s intestacy code nor cases interpreting the code specifically
address whether a child may inherit from a parent following the termination of parental
rights where the child is not subsequently adopted.[1] West Virginia intestate law more broadly provides that a child may inherit from his
parent if a parent-child relationship exists between them. See W. Va. Code § 42-1-3a (1995) (permitting a decedent’s descendants to inherit from
the decedent through intestate succession); W. Va. Code § 42-1-1(5) (defining as descendant
of an individual as all his descendants with the relationship of a parent and child
as defined by the code); W. Va. Code § 42-1-1(26) (defining a parent as “any person
entitled to take, or who would be entitled to take if the child died without a will.”).[2] Thus, here, the claimants may only inherit from the NH if their parent-child relationship
survived the termination of parental rights of the NH.
Under West Virginia law, a parent-child relationship does not survive the termination
of parental rights. See In re Cesar L., 221 W. Va. 249 (2007) (finding a biological mother who voluntarily relinquished
her parental rights lacked standing to contest a child’s disposition order in an abuse
and neglect proceeding); In re A.H., No. 12-462, 2012 WL 4069567 (Sept. 7, 2012) (finding a biological father whose rights
were involuntarily terminated lacked standing to contest a child’s disposition order
in an abuse and neglect proceeding).
In re Cesar, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia (the state’s highest court) held that
“a final order terminating a person’s parental right, as a result of either an involuntary
termination or voluntary replenishment, completely severs the parent-child relationship, and as a consequence of such order of termination, the law no longer recognizes such person as a “parent” with regard to the child(ren) involved in the particular termination proceeding.”
Id. at 258-59 (further stating that termination of parental rights “relieves such person
of all the rights and privileges, as well as duties and obligations, considered to
be ‘parental rights’” and “the person who formerly possessed such parental rights
loses his his/hers status as the child’s parent”) (emphasis added); In re A.H., 2012 WL 4069567 at *3-4 (applying In re Cesar to cases involving involuntary termination of parental rights). Although In re Cesar addresses a parent’s standing to contest a dispositional order in an abuse and neglect
case, we believe that West Virginia’s Supreme Court of Appeals would extend its broad
and sweeping holding that the termination of parental rights completely severs the
parent-child relationship to matters involving intestate succession.
Thus, we believe that the statutes and cases referenced herein dictate that the termination
of parental rights severs the parent-child relationship such that the child no longer
has the right to inherit from that parent under West Virginia intestacy law. Thus,
we believe that the claimants are not entitled to surviving child’s insurance benefits
on NH’s record.