In the case of Hutcheson, the court ruled that State law controls the definition of the stepchild-stepparent relationship.

Hutcheson applies only to determine a stepchild relationship. For other factors of entitlement, e.g. duration or dependency, apply standard instructions.

When the claim involves a stepchild of a same-sex relationship, see GN 00210.505.

Apply the Hutcheson ruling at all levels of adjudication if the claimant’s state of residence at the time of the determination or decision is in one of the states in the Ninth Circuit, which include:

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  Alaska

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  American Samoa

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  Arizona

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  California

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  Guam

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  Hawaii

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  Idaho

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  Montana

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  Nevada

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  Northern Mariana Islands

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  Oregon

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  Washington

For cases subject to the Hutcheson AR:

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  Do not terminate benefits paid based on applying this ruling because the beneficiary no longer resides in the Ninth Circuit.

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  Apply all deduction, suspension, and nonpayment events listed in RS 00203.030 to the beneficiaries entitled under this ruling.

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  Terminate benefits as instructed in RS 00203.035.

If the appropriate state of domicile is one of the states in the Ninth Circuit, apply the State law of the number holder’s (NH) domicile at the time the application is filed; or, if the NH is deceased, his or her domicile at the time of death according to the State law digest in GN 00306.290C in this section. If there is a definition of stepchild shown for the applicable state, disregard the definition of stepchild in GN 00306.230A.1. If there is no definition of stepchild for the applicable state, follow the instructions in GN 00306.230, including the definition of stepchild in GN 00306.230A.1.

If the NH’s domicile is American Samoa, Guam, or the Northern Mariana Islands, check if an existing opinion in PR 01605.000 applies to the claim. If no such opinion exist, request an opinion from the Office of the General Counsel (OGC). To request a new opinion, refer to instructions in GN 01010.815.

Follow these instructions when processing awards for cases subject to the Hutcheson AR:

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  Enter the remark “Hutcheson AR” on the Report of Contact (RPOC) screen in the Modernized Claims System (MCS) or the REMARKS field on the Benefit Continuity Factors/Remarks/Notice (BCRN) screen or Electronic Form BCRN (EFBCRN) when processing the claim manually using an Automated 101 (A101) or Electronic Form 101 (EF101).

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  Enter listing code “555” for “Hutcheson AR” on the Decision Input (DECI) screen in MCS.

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  If entitlement of a child results in an adverse adjustment, follow the procedures in GN 01010.330.

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  If entitlement of a child creates an adverse claim, follow the procedures in GN 01010.320. Forward the claim to the servicing Processing Center (PC) as a District Office Final Authorization (DOFA) exclusion (non-DOFA). Record non-DOFA reason code “3” for “ADVERSE CLM” on the Decision Input (DECI) screen in MCS. For more information on non-DOFA claims, see GN 01010.027.

Follow these instructions when processing disallowances for cases subject to the Hutcheson AR:

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  Before disallowing the claim, consider all options in which we might allow the child’s claim for benefits following the procedures in GN 00306.001D.

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  If there are no such options, disallow the claim under code “34” for “No step-relationship” following procedures in GN 00306.315. For information on documenting a code “34” disallowance, see GN 00306.001E.2.

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  Enter the remark “Hutcheson AR” on the RPOC screen in MCS.

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  Enter listing code “555” for “Hutcheson AR” on the DECI screen in MCS.