TN 98 (12-23)

GN 00306.485 Indiana Intestacy Laws

1. A. 

   Under Indiana law, a child can inherit from his/her mother regardless of whether the child's mother and father were married.

2. B. 

   An out-of-wedlock child can demonstrate a father-child relationship sufficient to permit the father and the child to inherit from each other if:

   1. 1. 

      effective 01/01/54 through 06/30/87, the paternity of the child is established in a court of law during the child’s lifetime;* or

   2. 2. 

      effective 07/01/87 through 06/30/99, the paternity of the child has been established by law in a cause of action that is filed during the father’s lifetime or within 5 months after the father’s death;* or

   3. 3. 

      effective 07/01/99, the paternity of the child has been established by law in a cause of action that is filed:*

      a. during the father’s lifetime, for a child who was at least 20 years of age when the father died;

      b. during the father’s lifetime or within 5 months after the father’s death, for a child who was less than 20 years of age when the father died;

      c. within 11 months of the father’s death, for a child born after the father died; or

   4. 4. 

      effective 01/01/54, the putative father marries the mother of the child and acknowledges the child to be his own; or

   5. 5. 

      effective 07.01.02, the putative father executes a paternity affidavit in accordance with IC 16-37-2-2.1

   *For claims filed on or after 11/27/98, or pending on that date, a State court order adjudicating paternity under section 1., 2., or 3. above 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. If a claimant does not present a State court order adjudicating paternity, or if he/she presents a court order which is not valid under Indiana law because it resulted from a State court petition which was filed more than a certain period of time after the putative father’s death, as set forth in section 1., 2., or 3. above, an SSA adjudicator may independently determine paternity by applying relevant Indiana law per GN 00306.485C.

3. C. 

   In adjudicating paternity, paternity is presumed if:

   1. 1. 

      effective 10/01/79, the man and the child's biological mother are or have been married to each other and the child is born during the marriage or within 300 days after the marriage is terminated by death, annulment, or dissolution; or

   2. 2. 

      effective 10/01/79, the man and the child's biological mother attempted to marry each other by a marriage solemnized in apparent compliance with the law, even though the marriage is void or is voidable, and the child is born during the attempted marriage or within 300 days after the attempted marriage is terminated by death, annulment, or dissolution; or

   3. 3. 

      effective 10/01/79, after the child's birth, he and the child's biological mother marry or attempt to marry each other, and the marriage is void or voidable, and he subsequently acknowledges paternity in writing with the registrar of vital statistics; or

   4. 4. 

      effective 10/01/79, there is no other presumed father and the man, with the consent of the mother, receives the child into his home and openly holds the child out as his biological child; or

   5. 5. 

      effective 7/01/96, the man undergoes a blood test that indicates with at least a 99% probability that the man is the child's biological father; or

   6. 6. 

      effective from 10/01/79 to 7/01/96, with the consent of the mother, he acknowledges paternity in writing with the registrar of vital statistics (this section does not apply after 07/01/96); after 7/1/96, the man executes a paternity affidavit in accordance with IC 16-37-2.1 within 72 hours of the child's birth.

The presumptions listed in sections 1.- 5. above may be rebutted by direct, clear, and convincing evidence. The presumption raised in section 6. above may be rebutted upon a showing by blood or genetic test that sufficiently demonstrates that the person who executed the paternity affidavit is not the child's biological father. Submit to the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) any case where blood or genetic test results are submitted to rebut the presumption in item 6.

In addition, where the preceding presumptions regarding paternity do not apply to any person, the SSA adjudicator can otherwise find that paternity is established by the preponderance of the evidence. The testimony of the mother may be received in evidence to establish paternity, but the testimony of the mother must be supported by corroborative evidence or circumstances.