TN 77 (11-23)

GN 00306.515 Maryland Intestacy Laws

1. A. 

   A child born to parents who have not participated in a marriage ceremony with each other shall be considered to be the child of his father only if the father:

   1. 1. 

      is alive on or after 01/01/70 and has been judicially determined to be the father in an action brought under the statutes relating to paternity proceedings. Md. Code Ann. Fam. Law section 5-1028 (1996). For claims filed on or after 11/27/98, or pending on that date, a judicial determination is not required, and SSA will determine the relationship between the alleged father and the child by applying a preponderance of the evidence standard; or

   2. 2. 

      has acknowledged himself, in writing, to be the father; or

   3. 3. 

      has openly and notoriously recognized the child to be his child; or

   4. 4. 

      has subsequently married the mother and has acknowledged himself, orally or in writing, to be the father. Md. Code Ann. Est. & Trusts section 1-208 (1996); or

   5. 5. 

      as of 10/1/84, is shown to be the father based on a blood or genetic test report which shows a statistical probability of paternity of at least 99.0%. This constitutes a rebuttable presumption of paternity.

      A test report which excludes the named individual is conclusive evidence of non-paternity.

      Submit to the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) for a determination about whether the evidence satisfies the state's standards:

      • •

        blood or genetic test results which show a statistical probability lower than 99.0%; or

      • •

        evidence presented to rebut the presumption; or

      • •

        test results presented to exclude the named individual as father.

   The decision that the requirements in 1.- 4. are acts of legitimation, rather than inheritance rights only, is a change of position effective 03/11/70. Under prior interpretation, those requirements conferred inheritance rights but did not legitimate the child. Effective for claims pending on or after 07/10/78, those provisions apply even when the NH dies prior to 01/01/70.

2. B. 

   Effective 07/01/74, a child of the decedent who is conceived before the death of the decedent, but born afterwards shall inherit as if he had been born in the lifetime of the decedent. No other after-born relation may be considered as entitled to distribution in his own right. Md. Code Ann. Est. & Trusts section 3-107 (1996).