# SSR 85-17: SSR 85-17: SECTION 216(h)(2)(A) (42 U.S.C. 416(h)(2)(A)) CHILD'S INSURANCE BENEFITS -- PROSPECTIVE EFFECT OF INHERITANCE STATUTE -- WISCONSIN

> Federal · Rulings · In force

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/SSA_SSR_OASI_SSR_85_17

## Section

- **Citation:** SSR 85-17
- **Heading:** SSR 85-17: SECTION 216(h)(2)(A) (42 U.S.C. 416(h)(2)(A)) CHILD'S INSURANCE BENEFITS -- PROSPECTIVE EFFECT OF INHERITANCE STATUTE -- WISCONSIN
- **Jurisdiction:** Federal
- **Kind:** Rulings
- **Status:** In force
- **Text as of:** August 14, 2026
- **Source:** Compiled text
- **Location:** Social Security Rulings / OASI / Family Relationships / SSR 85-17

## Text

20 CFR 404.354(b) and 404.355(a)

SSR 85-17

A question was raised as to whether the claimant was entitled to child's
insurance benefits on the worker's earnings record as of June 8, 1982, the
date a Wisconsin court had entered an order of paternity and support, or
whether an earlier entitlement date could be established.

The claimant was born out of wedlock on June 30, 1980. On September 4,
1980, paternity proceedings against the worker were commenced in a
Wisconsin court. Shortly thereafter, the worker denied paternity of the
claimant in court. In December 1980, the worker agreed to admit paternity
if blood tests established him to be the claimant's father. The results of
the blood tests wee received on November 24, 1981, and stated, "The odds
in favor of paternity are 582 to 1, or 99.83%. Paternity is practically
proved." At a pretrial conference held on March 5, 1982, the worker
admitted paternity and agreed to assume support obligations for the
claimant. The court entered the paternity and support order on June 8,
1982. In addition to ordering prospective support payments of $10 per week
commencing June 4, 1982, the court also ordered past support in the amount
of $1,900. The Wisconsin Child Support Coordinator advised that the
support order was retroactive to the child's date of birth. The court also
ordered that fees be paid for filing of a corrected birth record pursuant
to Wis. Stat. Ann. 69-24(1)(e) (West).

The worker had been entitled to disability insurance benefits since
February 22, 1980. On May 26, 1982, the claimant's mother filed an
application for child's insurance benefits on behalf of the claimant.
upport order was retroactive to the child's date of birth. The court also
ordered that fees be paid for filing of a corrected birth record pursuant
to Wis. Stat. Ann. 69-24(1)(e) (West).

The worker had been entitled to disability insurance benefits since
February 22, 1980. On May 26, 1982, the claimant's mother filed an
application for child's insurance benefits on behalf of the claimant.

Section 216(h)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act (the Act), 42 U.S.C.
416(h)(2)(A), provides that a claimant is a worker's child if the claimant
has the right, under appropriate State law, to inherit the worker's
intestate personal property. Wis. Stat. Ann. 852.05 (West) provides that
an illegitimate child is entitled to inherit from his or her father if the
father has acknowledged his paternity either in writing or in open court
or has been adjudged to be the father in a paternity proceeding under Wis.
Stat. Ann. Ch. 767 (West). In this case, there was a court order of
paternity dated June 8, 1982. There was also an earlier acknowledgment of
paternity in open court on March 5,
1982. [1] It is concluded that
the March 5, 1982, oral acknowledgment of paternity in open court, without
more, satisfied the statutory requirement. An oral acknowledgment of
paternity in open court need only be clear and unequivocal when made to
satisfy the Wisconsin statutory requirement. In In re Traver's Estate,
supra, the court stated,

118 N.W.2d at 935. Thus, the claimant first satisfied the requirements of
Wis. Stat. Ann. 852.05 (West) for intestate inheritance from the worker by
the March 5, 1982, oral acknowledgment of paternity by the worker in open
court.
y in open court need only be clear and unequivocal when made to
satisfy the Wisconsin statutory requirement. In In re Traver's Estate,
supra, the court stated,

118 N.W.2d at 935. Thus, the claimant first satisfied the requirements of
Wis. Stat. Ann. 852.05 (West) for intestate inheritance from the worker by
the March 5, 1982, oral acknowledgment of paternity by the worker in open
court.

Wis. Stat. Ann. 237.06, which has been slightly modified and renumbered
as Wis. Stat. Ann. 852.05 effective April 1, 1971, operates prospectively
and does not confer potential rights of inheritance on an illegitimate
child before an acknowledgment or court order of paternity. In its present
form, the relevant section of Wis. Stat. Ann. 852-05(1) (West) reads:

The courts have consistently distinguished between statutes which
legitimate children and those which merely confer inheritance rights.
While acts of legitimation tend to be given effect retroactive to the
birth of the child, acts which confer inheritance rights without
legitimating the child operate prospectively only. One frequently given
rationale for the difference is that since inheritance statutes operate
only upon somebody's intestate death, no purpose is generally served in
ascribing retroactive effect to such statutes. The section of the
Wisconsin statute involved here is not a statute that confers legitimacy;
rather it confers only inheritance rights. Therefore, because there is no
case law or legislative history to the contrary, it is concluded that
actions which confer inheritance rights operate only from the date of
their occurrence.
erally served in
ascribing retroactive effect to such statutes. The section of the
Wisconsin statute involved here is not a statute that confers legitimacy;
rather it confers only inheritance rights. Therefore, because there is no
case law or legislative history to the contrary, it is concluded that
actions which confer inheritance rights operate only from the date of
their occurrence.

In this case, the paternity order appeared to have included some
retroactive elements. Past support and a corrected birth certificate were
ordered. There is, however, no basis in Wisconsin law for concluding that
retroactive actions ordered under the paternity statute, Wis. Stat. Ann.
Ch. 767 (West), serve to legitimate the child or otherwise affect the
operation of Wisconsin's separate intestate inheritance statute, Wis.
Stat. Ann. 825.05(1)
(West). [2]

In summation, although the court did not enter a paternity order until
June 8, 1982, the requirements of Wisconsin's intestate inheritance
statute were met as of March 5, 1982, the date the worker first admitted
paternity of the claimant in open court. Therefore, the claimant was the
worker's child under section 216(h)(2)(A) of the Act as of March 5, 1982.
For the reasons outlined above, the establishment of an earlier date could
not be justified (e.g., the date of the positive blood test results or the
date from which support payments were retroactively ordered).
date the worker first admitted
paternity of the claimant in open court. Therefore, the claimant was the
worker's child under section 216(h)(2)(A) of the Act as of March 5, 1982.
For the reasons outlined above, the establishment of an earlier date could
not be justified (e.g., the date of the positive blood test results or the
date from which support payments were retroactively ordered).

[1] The mother of the claimant
believed that there was also an acknowledgment of paternity in open court
in December 1980. At that time, the worker agreed to admit paternity based
on the results of blood tests which were returned on November 24, 1981.
Any contingent admission of paternity in December 1980, however, was not
sufficiently clear and unequivocal to satisfy the statutory requirement.
See In re Traver's Estate, 18 Wis. 2d 416, 118 N.W.2d 932 (1963),
interpreting Wis. Stat. Ann. 237.06, an essentially similar predecessor of
the present Wisconsin statute. Moreover, the results of the blood test on
November 24, 1981, without more, did not satisfy the statutory
requirement.

[2] Under Wis. Stat. Ann.
52.37(1) (West), court orders of paternity included an order to make
support payments retroactive to the date of the child's birth. That
section governs paternity actions commenced before July 1, 1981, when the
statute was renumbered as Wis. Stat. Ann. 767.51(4) (West) and amended to
limit past support to the period following commencement of the paternity
lawsuit. L.1979, c. 352, §§ 9-11, 25, effective July 1, 1981. Both the
prior and present statutes also permit issuance of a new birth certificate
which names the father.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/SSA_SSR_OASI_SSR_85_17. Check the current official text before relying on it. Not legal advice.