TN 86 (11-23)

GN 00306.655 Virgin Islands Intestacy Laws

A child or father acquires status of child or parent if:

1. 1. 

   effective 09/01/21, parents intermarry even though such marriage shall be adjudged to be void; or

2. 2. 

   effective 09/01/57 through 05/04/98, father publicly acknowledges child as his own, receives it as such into his family (with wife's consent if he is married) and otherwise treats it as his legitimate child; or

3. 3. 

   (I) effective from 05/18/49 through 05/04/98, father admits paternity by signing BC. Submit cases were death occurred prior to 05/28/49 to the Office of the General Counsel (OGC); or

4. 4. 

   (I) effective 05/18/49, father is adjudged the child's father by a court of competent jurisdiction. For claims filed on or after 11/27/98, or pending on that date, a court order is not required. SSA will determine the relationship between the alleged father and child by applying a preponderance of the evidence*standard. Where the father dies after 08/03/57, adjudication of paternity for the purpose of inheritance must have occurred in his lifetime. For claims filed on or after 11/27/98, or pending on that date, SSA will determine the relationship between the alleged father and the child during the alleged father's lifetime and after his death by applying a preponderance of the evidence standard.*Submit to OGC where death occurred prior to 05/18/49; or

5. 5. 

   (I) effective from 09/01/57 through 05/04/98, father, by written acknowledgment, recognizes the child as his. After 05/05/98, only a written Affidavit of Paternity or Acknowledgment of Paternity the content of which states that it complies with the requirements established by Federal law (HHS) will suffice.**Submit to OGC cases where the acknowledgment does not meet the HHS requirements or death occurred prior to 09/01/57; or

6. 6. 

   effective 05/05/98, the VI Paternity and Child Support Division issues an administrative determination of paternity during the alleged father's lifetime; or

7. 7. 

   effective 09/27/91, a determination is made based on a blood or genetic marker test performed by a fully qualified physician or laboratory.

8. 8. 

   effective 05/05/98, blood genetic marker test results which indicate a 99% or greater probability that the man is the father of the child result in a conclusive presumption that the man is, in fact, the father. If the test results do not show that the testing and the laboratory have been accredited by an entity certified by HHS, request the claimant to provide such certification.

*Preponderance of the evidence is evidence which is of greater weight or which is more convincing than the opposing evidence; that is, evidence which as a whole shows that the fact sought to be proved is more probable than not. The unsupported testimony of the mother, if believed, satisfies the standard.

**The following are the requirements set forth by HHS as implemented by the VI: it must contain identifying information about the parents and child; the acknowledgment must be sworn to or affirmed by both parents if the child is born out-of-wedlock; the acknowledgment must contain written notice of the alternatives to, legal consequences of and the rights and responsibilities that arise from executing the acknowledgment; and in addition to that written notice, the parents must be given oral notice of those facts. NOTE: The acknowledgment may be rescinded within 60 days of the date of signing by filing a notarized request to rescind with the VI Department of Justice.