QUESTION PRESENTED
For purposes of the claimant G~s (G~’s or second wife’s) application for surviving
spouse benefits on the record of O~, the number holder (NH), you asked us to determine
whether the NH was validly married to G~, his purported second wife, at the time of
his death in 2001.
ANSWER
Based on the evidence submitted, we believe that the marriage between G~ and the NH
was void under Arkansas law because at the time of their marriage, the NH was not
yet divorced from his first wife. As such, G~ was not validly married to the NH at
the time of his death in 2001 and is not entitled to benefits on the NH’s account
as a surviving spouse, or widow.[1]
BACKGROUND
The NH passed away on October XX, 2001 while domiciled in Arkansas. There is evidence
indicating that the NH potentially had three marriages to three different women, and
it is our understanding that the Social Security Administration (SSA or agency) has
been paying widow’s benefits to the NH’s third wife, C~, on his record since 2002.
Because your legal opinion request concerns only the NH’s purported second wife, G~,
and her entitlement to widow’s benefits as the NH’s widow, we focus on G~’s status
as the NH’s widow. To the extent helpful in examining G~’s status as the NH’s widow,
we summarize the evidence submitted as to the NH’s three marriages.
The NH’s First Purported Marriage To R~
An Arkansas marriage certificate shows that the NH and R~(R~ or first wife) were married
in a solemnized marriage ceremony in Arkansas on September XX, 1972. The evidence
indicates that R~ and the NH filed for a divorce in Minneapolis, Minnesota on June
XX, 1992, and that on December XX, 1992 “judicial review” was “approved.” See R~ v. O~, No. 27-FA-00018XXXXX (Hennepin Family Court, Minnesota). We do not have a copy of
the final divorce decree showing the exact date the divorce was final.[2] R~ died on August XX, 1998.
The NH’s Second Purported Marriage to G~
On March XX, 2015, G~ filed a claim for benefits on the NH’s record as a surviving
spouse, and it is this claim that is the subject of this present legal opinion request.[3] The evidence includes a copy of an Arkansas marriage certificate showing that G~
and the NH married in a solemnized marriage ceremony in Arkansas on May XX, 1978,
while he was still married to R~. In a May 2015 statement to the agency, G~ stated
that she did not list her marriage to the NH in her February 2015 disability application
because she did not think it was legal. She stated that after she married the NH,
she found out that he was still married to his previous wife, R~, and that the NH
and R~ never divorced. The evidence includes an undated statement by the NH in which
the NH similarly stated that he did not divorce R~ before he married G~, as he did
not know he needed to divorce R~ in order to marry G~. In March 2015, the field office
contacted the St. Francis County, Arkansas circuit clerk’s office to inquire whether
there was record of a divorce between G~ and the NH, and the clerk’s office search
of records for the years 1979 through 2001 found no record of a divorce.
G~ also provided a copy of an Arkansas marriage certificate showing that she married
J~ in Forrest City, St. Francis County, Arkansas on October XX, 1988, and that they
divorced on February XX, 1996 in Forrest City, Arkansas. J~ passed away on October
XX, 2005.
The NH’s Third Purported Marriage to C~
There is evidence that the NH married C~(C~ or third wife) on October XX, 1992, while
domiciled in Arkansas. C~ filed an application for widow’s benefits on the NH’s account
on October XX, 2001, in which she stated that she and the NH had lived together in
1988, that the NH left her in 1993, that she later moved to Missouri, but that she
did not file for a divorce from the NH and had not been notified that the NH filed
for divorce. Instead, she reported that their marriage ended with the NH’s death on
October XX, 2001. A 2002 letter from the agency shows that the agency had a marriage
license showing a marriage between the NH and C~, and that the agency had searched
for a divorce decree between C~ and the NH in St. Francis County, Arkansas and in
St. Louis County, Missouri and did not find such a decree.[4] In 2002, the agency granted C~’s application for widow’s benefits on the NH’s record,
and she currently receives widow’s benefits on the NH’s record.
ANALYSIS
A. Entitlement to Widow’s Benefits Under the Social Security Act
Your legal opinion request concerns whether the NH was validly married to G~, his
purported second wife, at the time of his death in 2001. The Social Security Act (Act)
provides that a claimant may be eligible for benefits as an insured NH’s widow if
she was validly married to the NH at the time of his death, or if not validly married,
she would be able to inherit a spouse’s share under state intestate succession laws.
See 42 U.S.C. §§ 402(e)(1), 416(c)(1), (h)(1)(A); 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.335(a), 404.345.[5] There are additional requirements for entitlement to widow’s benefits that we do
not address, as they are not relevant to this legal opinion. See 42 U.S.C. § 402(e)(1)(A)-(D); 20 C.F.R. § 404.335(b)-(e). Because the Act directs
the agency to apply the law of the state where the NH had a permanent home at the
time of his death to determine the validity of a marriage and inheritance as a spouse
under intestate succession laws, Arkansas law controls. See 42 U.S.C. § 416(h)(1)(A); 20 C.F.R. § 404.345;20 C.F.R. § 404.303 (permanent home
means the true and fixed home or legal domicile of the insured individual).
B. Under Arkansas Law, G~ has not Proven that She had a Valid Marriage to the NH at the
Time of the NH’s Death in 2001, Per 42 U.S.C. § 416(h)(1)(A)(i)
Given that the NH has had multiple marriages, we begin our analysis by recognizing
that Arkansas law presumes that C~ is the NH’s legal widow because C~’s 1992 marriage
to the NH was his last marriage and because the agency is currently paying benefits
to C~ as his surviving spouse based upon evidence of her marriage to the NH. See Stokes v. Heckler, 773 F.2d 990, 991-92 (8th Cir. 1985) (under Arkansas law, the last ceremonial marriage
is presumed valid and is one of the strongest presumptions under Arkansas law); Blythe v. Blythe, 410 S.W.2d 379 (Ark. 1967) (“the presumption in favor of the validity of a marriage
is so strong that the one who attacks a subsequent marriage . . . has the difficult
burden”); Sims v. Powell’s Estate, 432 S.W.2d 838, 840 (Ark. 1968) (“positive proof” is necessary to rebut the presumption);
Bruno v. Bruno, 256 S.W.2d 341, 344 (Ark. 1953) (“where a man and woman are married and it is later
discovered that one of them has a living former spouse it will be presumed, in the
absence of proof to the contrary, that the former spouse had been divorce[d] at the
time of said marriage.”). For G~ to prove that she is the NH’s legal widow based on
her valid marriage to the NH, G~ has the heavy burden of providing “clear and decisive”
evidence to rebut the presumption of validity as to the NH’s marriage to C~. See Stokes, 773 F2d at 991-992 (it is a “heavy burden of proof imposed under Arkansas law on one
who would invalidate an apparently legal marriage”) (citing Missouri Pacific R.R. Co. v. Harris, 120 S.W.2d 695, 696 (Ark. 1938)).
As explained below, we find that G~ has not met her burden to overcome Arkansas’s
strong presumption in favor of the validity of the NH’s marriage to C~ because G~’s
1978 marriage to the NH was void.
Although an Arkansas marriage certificate shows G~’s 1978 marriage to the NH, we also
have evidence showing that such a marriage was void because the NH was still married
to R~, his first wife, when he married G~. See Smiley v. Smiley, 448 S.W. 2d 642, 646 (Ark. 1970) (a ceremonial marriage to a person who has previously
been married and has never obtained a divorce is void from its inception and no court
decree is required to declare it void). Under Arkansas law, a void[6] marriage includes a subsequent marriage to an individual who was not yet divorced
from a living “former” spouse. See Acuna v. Sullivan, 765 F.Supp. 510, 513 (E.D. Ark. 1991) (finding a subsequent marriage before dissolution
of the prior marriage is void); Bruno, 256 S.W.2d at 343 (a ceremonial marriage to a person who has previously been married
and has never obtained a divorce is void); Ark. Code Ann. § 9-12-101. Such a marriage
is void even if one of the parties to the second marriage entered it in good faith.
See Standridge v. Standridge, 769 S.W.2d 12, 14 (Ark. 1989). As discussed below, the NH’s first wife, R~, was
still living and married to the NH at the time G~ and he purportedly married in 1978.
An Arkansas marriage certificate shows that the NH and R~ were married in a solemnized
marriage ceremony in Arkansas on September XX, 1972. The field office contacted the
Hennepin County and the 4th District Family Court in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the
county records showed that R~ and the NH’s divorce was filed and finalized around
20 years later in 1992.[7] An Arkansas marriage certificate showing that G~ and the NH married in a solemnized
marriage ceremony in Arkansas on May XX, 1978. But because the NH was not divorced
from his first wife R~ (who was still living at the time) until 1992, the 1978 marriage
between G~ and the NH was not valid and was void under Arkansas law. See Ark. Code Ann. § 9-12-101; Acuna, 765 F.Supp. at 513 (finding a subsequent marriage before dissolution of the prior
marriage is void).
Given that G~’s marriage to the NH was void, the lack of a divorce decree showing
that G~ and the NH were divorced is not determinative. See Smiley, 448 S.W. 2d at 642 (a ceremonial marriage to a person who has previously been married
and has never obtained a divorce is void from its inception and no court decree is
required to declare it void); Bruno, 256 S.W.3d at 341; Goset v. Goset, 164 S.W. 759, 762 (Ark. 1914). Indeed, G~ advised the agency that she did not list
her marriage to the NH in a February 2015 disability application she had filed because
she did not think it was legal. She stated that after she married the NH, she found
out that he was still married to his previous wife, R~. The evidence includes an undated
statement by the NH in which the NH similarly stated that he did not divorce R~ before
he married G~. Furthermore, in 1988, G~ married another man in Arkansas and was married
to him until they divorced in 1996. Thus, if G~ did not believe her marriage to the
NH was legal, it follows that she never sought a divorce from the NH. Further, her
subsequent marriage to another man contradicts her present claim that she thought
she had a valid marriage to the NH.
Accordingly, because G~’s marriage to the NH was void, G~ has not proven that she
was validly married to the NH under Arkansas law at the time of his death in 2001.
Therefore, she has not established her status as the NH’s widow under the Act. See 42 U.S.C. § 416(h)(1)(A)(i).[8]
C. G~ Has Not Established a Deemed Valid Marriage to the NH under the Act, 42U.S.C. § 416(h)(1)(B)
Finally, we consider whether the agency will deem G~’s marriage to the NH valid under
section 216(h)(1)(B). See 42 U.S.C. § 416(h)(1)(B). If, under state law, an applicant is determined not to be
a NH’s spouse, the agency will nevertheless consider the claimant to be the NH’s surviving
spouse if she went through a marriage ceremony with the NH in good faith that would
have resulted in a valid marriage except for a legal impediment. See 42 U.S.C. § 416(h)(1)(B); 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.346(a), 404.727; POMS GN 00305.055. A legal impediment includes only an impediment that results because a previous marriage
had not ended at the time of the ceremony or because there was a defect in the procedure
followed in connection with the intended marriage. See 42 U.S.C. § 416(h)(1)(B)(iv); 20 C.F.R. § 404.346(a). “Good faith” means that at the
time of the ceremony, the applicant did not know that a legal impediment existed,
or if she did know, the applicant thought that it would not prevent a valid marriage.
See 20 C.F.R. § 404.346. To be entitled to benefits as a widow based on a deemed marriage,
the claimant and the insured must have been living in the same household at the time
the insured died. See 42 U.S.C § 416(h)(1)(B)(i); 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.346, 404.347.
Here, G~ stated that she knew that the NH was married to R~ when he married G~ and
that she did not believe her marriage to the NH was a legal marriage, but she also
indicated that she learned about this after her marriage ceremony. Thus, there is
some evidence to support a finding that she met the good faith requirement. See 20 C.F.R. § 404.346. Regardless, because the evidence indicates that G~ and the NH
were not living in the same household when he died in 2001, the agency will not deem
their marriage valid. See id.
CONCLUSION
We conclude that the marriage between the G~ and the NH was void due to the NH’s prior
undissolved marriage to R~. As such, because G~ was not validly married to the NH
at the time of his death in 2001 under Arkansas law, she is not the NH’s surviving
spouse, or widow, under the Act for purposes of widow’s benefits.
Michael McGaughran
Regional Chief Counsel
By: ________________________
Una McGeehan
Assistant Regional Counsel