TN 112 (12-23)

GN 00306.015 Use of a State Court Judgment or Order to Establish a Parent-Child Relationship Under State Intestacy Law

A State court judgment or order establishing a parent-child relationship that provides inheritance rights is generally sufficient evidence of a parent-child relationship under State intestacy law. The judgment or order should set out the legal basis for establishing the parent-child relationship.

A. When to request a legal opinion on the validity of a State court judgment or order

If the order is questionable on its face or does not appear to establish parentage consistent with the issuing State’s law, request a legal opinion from the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) using instructions in GN 01010.815.

B. How the OGC will evaluate the State court judgment or order

The OGC will consider whether a State court judgment order:

  • should be given full faith and credit (see GN 00306.015B.1); and

  • meets all of the criteria in Social Security Ruling (SSR) 83-37c (Gray v. Richardson) (see GN 00306.015B.2).

If a State court decision is questionable on its face, does not appear to be consistent with the issuing State’s law, or otherwise does not meet all of the criteria in SSR 83-37c, we are not bound by the State court decision.

1. Full faith and credit

Under the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the U. S. Constitution, states must give full faith and credit to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of other states. The purpose of the Full Faith and Credit Clause is to avoid conflicts between states in adjudicating the same matters. A state is not required, however, to afford full faith and credit to a judgment rendered by a court that did not have jurisdiction over the subject matter or the relevant parties.

Analyzing whether the one state must afford full faith and credit to a judgment made by another state thus requires a two-tiered analysis:

  • first, we must consider whether the original court had jurisdiction, thus entitling the judgment to full faith and credit; and

  • second, we must determine how much credit the judgment is entitled to receive.

We give “full faith and credit” to a State court judgment or order that establishes a parent-child relationship for intestacy purposes in the NH’s State of domicile if it appears to be valid under the law of the State that issued the order.

2. SSR 83-37c (Gray v. Richardson)

When determining a child’s relationship under State law, where the evidence includes a State court decision on the issue, we are not necessarily bound by the court decision. State court determinations on domestic relations matters bind the agency when they meet these criteria in SSR 83-37c:

  • when a State court of competent jurisdiction previously determined an issue in a claim for Social Security benefits;

  • when parties with opposing interests genuinely contested the issue before the State court;

  • when the issue falls within the general category of domestic relations law; and

  • when the resolution by the State trial court is consistent with the law enunciated by the highest court in the State.


To Link to this section - Use this URL:
http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0200306015
GN 00306.015 - Use of a State Court Judgment or Order to Establish a Parent-Child Relationship Under State Intestacy Law - 12/11/2023
Batch run: 12/11/2023
Rev:12/11/2023