TN 98 (12-23)
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A.
Under Indiana law, a child can inherit from his/her mother regardless of whether the
child's mother and father were married.
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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:
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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
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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
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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
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4.
effective 01/01/54, the putative father marries the mother of the child and acknowledges
the child to be his own; or
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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.
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C.
In adjudicating paternity, paternity is presumed if:
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.