Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Can Kids Conceived After Dad Died Get SSDI Benefits?

The Social Security Administration is refusing to grant survivor benefits to Michigan twins, who were born after in-vitro fertilization. The government says they shouldn't be recognized as heirs because they weren't alive when their father died.

A federal judge says he can't solve the Social Security dispute until the state Supreme Court decides if the kids are considered heirs under Michigan law.

This week the Michigan Supreme Court will hear arguments in this unusual case that involves a man from the Kalamazoo area who died of Lupus and twin children who were conceived through invitro fertilization.

Jeff Mattison, of Portage, Michigan who had lupus, high blood pressure and kidney failure, stopped taking certain medication at times so he could store his sperm without risk of passing on defects. On the day before his death, he injected his wife with medication for eventual harvest of her eggs for artificial insemination

In May, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Social Security Administration in a similar case from Florida, although that decision is not binding on the state Supreme Court. This case specifically focuses on a Michigan law.

The children, Mallory and Michael, might be eligible for $200 to $500 in monthly Social Security benefits, retroactive to their birth.