Finley v. Commissioner, Social Security Administration

270 S.W.3d 849 (2008)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

On July 19, 2001, Mr. Finely (H) died intestate while domiciled here in Arkansas. On June 26, 2002, Ms. Finley (P) had two of the previously frozen embryos thawed and transferred into her uterus, resulting in a single pregnancy. On June 26, 2002, Ms. Finley (P) had two of the previously frozen embryos thawed and transferred into her uterus, resulting in a single pregnancy. On February 14, 2003, prior to the child's birth, the Circuit Court entered an order providing that upon the baby's delivery, the State Registrar of the Arkansas Department of Health, Division of Vital Records, shall enter and state upon the certificate of birth that H, now deceased, is the father of [W.F.]; [a]nd that, thereafter, all State and Federal Agencies, of the United States of America, shall uphold the findings of this Court's conclusion of paternity-in P and H the father-for any and all lawful purposes. The child was born on March 4, 2003. On April 11, 2003, P filed a claim for mother's insurance benefits and the child's claim for child's insurance benefits, based on the earnings record of H. The claims were denied. An Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) issued a decision on June 16, 2006, awarding both mother's and child's insurance benefits. The Appeals Council reversed the ALJ's decision, finding that P's claims were without merit. P filed her complaint appealing the final decision of the Commissioner (D). A joint motion to certify the instant question was made and accepted. P argues that her child was 'conceived' at the time her egg was fertilized by H's sperm. Based upon the medical definitions of 'conception,' the child born of this union was not posthumously conceived and that as a matter of public policy, all children's rights should be protected, including their rights to property and inheritance. D claims Arkansas intestacy law does not provide inheritance rights from a biological father to a child who was created as an embryo through in vitro fertilization during his parents' marriage but implanted into his mother's womb after the death of the father. D claims the child was neither born nor conceived during the marriage, which ended upon H's death.