In determining eligibility for child’s benefits under the Social Security Act (the Act), a child is defined as the child, legally adopted child, stepchild, or in limited circumstances, grandchild of an insured individual. See 42 U.S.C. §§ 402(d), 416(e). In determining whether an applicant is the child of an insured individual under the Act, the Commissioner shall apply the law governing the devolution of intestate personal property applied by the courts of the state in which the insured individual is domiciled at the time such applicant files the application. 42 U.S.C. § 416(h)(2)(A); 20 C.F.R. § 404.355(b); see also Astrue v. Capato, 566 U.S. 541, 553 (2012).^[1] Because the NH was domiciled in Maine when filing the application for benefits, whether A~ can be considered the NH’s child must be determined under Maine intestacy law. Id.

Maine’s law of intestate succession explains that “‘parent’ for purposes of intestate succession means a person who has established a parent-child relationship with the child under Article 9 or Title 19-A, chapter 61 and whose parental rights have not been terminated.” Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 18-C, § 2-115 (2019). Most pertinent to this inquiry, Title 19-A, chapter 61 is the Maine Parentage Act, which defines a child as “an individual of any age whose parentage may be determined under this chapter.” Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 19-A, § 1832 (2016). The Maine Parentage Act affirms that parentage can be established by an adjudication of de facto parentage. Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 19-A, § 1851 (2019).

Here, the Court issued a de facto parent order, which expressly granted the NH’s petition to be acknowledged as A~’s de facto parent. Therefore, the NH established parentage for purposes of Maine’s laws of intestate succession.

Because a Maine court would conclude that A~ is the NH’s child if the NH were to die without a will, we believe that SSA should also consider A~ to be the NH’s child as of June XX, 2018—the date of the court’s de facto parentage order—for the purposes of entitlement to child’s benefits on the NH’s earnings record.