QUESTION PRESENTED
You asked us to determine if a claimant, D~, qualifies for surviving child’s insurance
benefits on the record of P~ (NH), under Pennsylvania law, where the NH terminated
her parental rights with respect to the claimant prior to her death.
CONCLUSION
We believe that Pennsylvania law does not allow the claimant to inherit from the NH
through intestacy. Therefore, we believe that the claimant does not qualify for surviving
child’s insurance benefits on NH’s record.
BACKGROUND
On November XX, 2011, the Court of Common Pleas of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania
issued a final decree determining that all parental rights and duties of the NH with
respect to the claimant were awarded to Northumberland County Children and Youth Services.
The decree states the NH voluntarily relinquished all parental rights and duties to
the claimant. On
May XX, 2014, the NH passed away in her state of domicile, Pennsylvania.
On March XX, 2015, the department of Children and Youth Services of Northumberland
County, Pennsylvania filed an application on the record of the NH for surviving child’s
benefits on behalf of the claimant. According to the department of the Children and
Youth Services, the claimant has not been adopted by another person 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 or her 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 her permanent home when she died. See Act § 216(h)(2)(A); 20 C.F.R. § 404.355(a)(1), (b)(1). Because NH was domiciled in
Pennsylvania when she died, we look to Pennsylvania law to determine whether the claimant
could inherit from NH as NH’s child.
See Act § 216(h)(2)(A); 20 C.F.R. § 404.355 (b)(4).
Pennsylvania intestacy law provides that a child can inherit from a parent. See 20 Pa.C.S.A.
§ 2103. That said, Pennsylvania domestic relations law, in 23 Pa.C.S.A. § 2501, provides
that the parents of a child, who has been in the care of an agency, may petition the
court for permission to “relinquish forever all parental rights and duties with respect to the child.” (emphasis added). Similarly, in the case of Kauffman v. Truett, 771 A.2d 36 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2001), the Pennsylvania Superior Court determined that a father’s
child support obligation ended upon the involuntary termination of his parental rights.
In reaching this conclusion, the Court stated: “Termination of parental rights is
the death sentence to a parent-child relationship.”
Id. at 39 (internal citation omitted). More recently, in Kimock v. Jones, 47 A.3d 850, 854-55 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2012), the Pennsylvania Superior Court distinguished between the relinquishment
of parental rights and a restrictive covenant order stating “termination of parental rights for all practical purposes ends the parent/child relationship
as unequivocally as the death of the child.” (emphasis in original).
We believe that the statutes and cases referenced herein dictate that where a parent
(such as the NH) relinquishes her parental rights, whether voluntarily or involuntarily
(and such relinquishment is accepted by court decree), it severs the parent-child
relationship such that the child (here, the claimant) no longer has the right to inherit
from that parent under Pennsylvania intestacy law. Thus, we believe that the claimant
does not qualify for surviving child’s insurance benefits on NH’s record.
Nora Koch
Acting Regional Chief Counsel
By: ____________________
Stuart Weiss
Assistant Regional Counsel