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<p>Listmates:</p>
</font>
<p>Can anyone give me tips on efficiently establishing Social
Security survivor benefits for a minor whose father died 4 months
ago without being on the birth certificate? Do you have a Soc.
Sec. Administration person and contact info I might talk to? Or
perhaps provide referral information for a lawyer or firm that
undertakes SSA matters within which you think this matter might
fit. <br>
</p>
<p>From talking to DoH/Vital Records, to get the correct birth
certificate to reflect a deceased dad they need a Parentage Order
and other stuff they told me about. That may, in turn, require a
prior probate Order to appoint a PR (mom will be okay, I think) to
act for deceased presumptive dad. <br>
</p>
<p>Does SSA have a process other than an updated birth certificate
and/or court Order? From recent phone tag messages with a local
SSA office rep & reviewing some POMS she noted for me, it
looks like there might be workarounds through SSA, but it also
looks like a mess of criteria, etc. I have a about 230 pages of
Lexis/Nexis materials on applying for and handling SSA benefits,
but I'm suspecting this could take inordinate amounts of my time
and not at all worth it from a compensation standpoint,
particularly seeing how SSA seems to have (or assert) iron-fisted
control over compensation for representing people with the SSA. <br>
</p>
<p>I'm aware of these steps & related materials: <br>
</p>
<ol>
</ol>
<ol>
<li>File an application in person, by telephone, or via the
Internet</li>
<li>Show that the worker/parent is entitled to retirement
benefits.</li>
<li>Show that the applicant is the worker's child, as defined in
the Social Security law.</li>
<li>Prove that the applicant is the dependent of the worker.</li>
<li>Show that the applicant is under age 18, under age 19 and
still a full-time elementary or secondary school</li>
<li>student, or if older, has a disability that began before age
22.</li>
<li>Show that the applicant is unmarried.</li>
<li>When applying, produce the worker's Social Security number;
the applicant's Social Security card, birth certificate, and
most recent W-2 or self-employment tax returns, if any; and bank
and account information for direct deposit of benefits.</li>
</ol>
<p>If a parentage case is necessary, my plan is (if necessary) to
have the surviving wife/mother appointed as PR to represent the
decedent dad in a parentage by wife/mother to get a Parentage
Order, but are there shortcuts possible? </p>
<p>I'm considered working on parentage first to see if the court
will require a PR for dad first, or allow wife/mom to act as
presumptive representative in the parentage action (I saw some
indication in the POMS that SSA seems open to not requiring a
court Order if probate laws would dictate such an end). However,
from talking to Wash. Dept of Health & Vital Records, they say
it's 4-5 MONTHS to use the Parentage Order to update/correct the
birth certificate!<br>
</p>
I expect my client's facts will support a parentage presumption
& Order establishing parentage by statute (26.26A.because the
parents married within around 5-10 years and the deceased husband
held himself out as the father prior thereto), but I'd like to avoid
probate and even parentage if possible. <br>
<font face="Arial">
<p>Mark D. Mullins</p>
</font>
<p align="CENTER"><i><font size="2" face="Arial">Law Office of</font><font size="1" face="Arial"><br>
</font></i><b><font size="4" face="Times">M</font><font size="2" face="Times">ARK</font></b> <b><font size="4" face="Times">D</font><font size="2" face="Times">.</font></b> <b> <font size="4" face="Times">M</font><font size="2" face="Times">ULLINS</font><font size="1" face="Times"><br>
</font></b><font size="2" face="Arial">206 South Lincoln Street,
Suite 205</font><font size="1" face="Arial"><br>
</font><font size="2" face="Arial">Port Angeles, WA 98362</font><font size="2" face="LinePrinter"><br>
</font><font size="2" face="Arial">Telephone: (360)457-7223
Facsimile: by arrangement<br>
</font><a href="mailto:mullinslaw@msn.com" moz-do-not-send="true"><font size="2" face="Arial">mullinslaw@msn.com</font></a></p>
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