TN 74 (11-23)

GN 00306.535 Mississippi Intestacy Laws

1. A. 

   Child acquires status of child if:

   1. 1. 

      parents intermarry and father acknowledges child; or

   2. 2. 

      chancery court, upon petition of father, has legitimated child; or

   3. 3. 

      (I) after 06/30/62, the county, circuit, chancery or family court expressly grants inheritance rights in paternity and support of child order; or

   4. 4. 

      (I) for claims adjudicated 07/01/81 or later, parents participate in a marriage ceremony before the child's birth, even though the marriage was subsequently declared void or dissolved by a court; or

   5. 5. 

      (I) for claims adjudicated 07/01/81 or later, paternity is established by an adjudication before the father's death through a preponderance of the evidence, or is established after the father's death in a Mississippi heirship proceeding. For child claims filed on or after 11/27/98, or pending on that date, an SSA adjudicator may make a paternity determination after the father's death by clear and convincing evidence.

      NOTE: An adjudicator may consider a party's refusal to submit to a blood test or other test that could reasonably prove or disprove a probability of paternity in resolving the paternity question against such party *; or

   6. 6. 

      (I) effective 07/01/94, acknowledgment of paternity form (developed by Mississippi Department of Human Services) has been completed and signed by father and mother, notarized, and filed with the Mississippi Bureau of Vital Statistics.

   7. 7. 

      (I) effective 07/01/94, a presumption of paternity rebutted only by a preponderance of the evidence is created when genetic tests show a 98% or greater probability of paternity as calculated by the experts qualified as examiners of genetic tests.

2. B. 

   Father acquires status of parent under A.1.-A.5., above; however, he only acquires that status under A.3-A.5 if he has treated the child as his own and has not refused or neglected to support the child.

*If there was a court order and refusal to obey such an order, determine if there was a later court determination based on that refusal and any other evidence in the case. If so, consider the later court determination under the preponderance of the evidence or clear and convincing evidence standard. If a paternity determination was not issued by the court following such an order and refusal, submit the claim to the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) for a determination about whether the refusal to comply with the court order has any evidentiary significance under State law; whether the evidence in the claim meets the standard of proof applied by the Mississippi courts.