TN 27 (12-00)

GN 00306.480 Illinois Intestacy Laws

1. A. 

   Under Illinois law, a child-mother relationship is established regardless of whether the child's mother and father were married.

2. B. 

   A child acquires the status of child, and a father acquires the status of parent if:

   1. 1. 

      parents intermarry and father acknowledges child; or

   2. 2. 

      effective 10/01/77, child is born of a prohibited or common-law marriage; or

   3. 3. 

      effective 01/05/84, if under the supervision of a licensed physician and with the consent of her husband, a wife is inseminated artificially with semen donated by a man not her husband, the husband shall be treated in law as if he were the natural father of a child thereby conceived. The husband's consent must be in writing executed and acknowledged by both the husband and wife. The donor of semen provided to a licensed physician for use in artificial insemination of a woman other than the donor's wife shall be treated in law as if he were not the natural father of the child thereby conceived.

3. C. 

   Effective 09/12/78, an out-of-wedlock child can inherit from his/her father if:

   1. 1. 

      (I) paternity is established by court order entered before the father's death. For child claims filed on or after 11/27/98, or pending on that date, a State court order adjudicating paternity under this section need not actually be obtained for an out-of-wedlock child to qualify as an insured individual's child under section 216(h)(2)(A) of the Act. A SSA adjudicator may independently determine paternity by applying relevant Illinois law; or

   2. 2. 

      (I) the father acknowledged paternity prior to his death, and that acknowledgment is established by clear and convincing evidence; or

   3. 3. 

      (I) following the father's death paternity is proven by clear and convincing evidence.

   During a putative father's lifetime, paternity is established by a preponderance of the evidence. After a putative father's death, paternity is established by clear and convincing evidence. Clear and convincing evidence requires more certainty on the part of the fact-finder than a "preponderance of the evidence" standard (more than 50%), but less certainty than the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard.

4. D. 

   In adjudicating paternity, a man is presumed to be the natural father of the child if:

   1. 1. 

      effective 07/01/85, he and the child's mother are or have been married to each other, even though the marriage is or could be declared invalid, and the child is born or conceived during the marriage; or

   2. 2. 

      effective 07/01/85, after the child's birth, he and the child's natural mother have married each other, even though the marriage is or could be declared invalid, and he is named, with his consent, as the child's father on the child's birth certificate; or

   3. 3. 

      effective 07/01/85, blood or genetic testing shows that the alleged father is not excluded and that the combined paternity index is at least 500 to 1. If tests show that the alleged father is not excluded and the combined paternity index is less than 500 to 1, the testing does not create a presumption of paternity but is still admissible evidence to be considered with other competent evidence of paternity; or

   4. 4. 

      effective 07/01/85, he and the child's mother have signed an acknowledgment of paternity; or

   5. 5. 

      effective 01/24/95, the natural father is someone other than one presumed to be the father according to subsections 1.-4. above, and the natural father signs an acknowledgment of paternity and the presumed father signs a denial of paternity.

   The preceding presumptions may be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence. If paternity is not presumed under the preceding sections, the fact finder should proceed to consider all relevant evidence to determine whether paternity is established by a preponderance of the evidence during a putative father's lifetime, or by clear and convincing evidence after his death.