Relationship as a Problem in Old-Age and Survivors Insurance

T H E E X I S T I N G PROVISIONS of t i t l e I I of the Social Security A c t require t h a t i n determining re lat ionships between husbands and wives, and children and parents, the intestacy laws of the various States shall be applied. Since the provisions, interpretations, and appl icat ion of the laws of the various States v a r y f r om one State to another, there has resulted a degree of adminis trat ive complexity , di f f iculty i n obtaining u n i f o r m i t y i n the determinat ion of claims for benefits, and, to some extent, a publ ic resentment of the benefit decisions made under these provisions. When the old-age insurance program was expanded under the 1939 amendments to include protect ion for dependents and survivors, four now classes of beneficiaries were established— wives, widows, chi ldren, and parents—but the act d id not undertake to define those classes w i t h any preciseness. Instead, the act directed the Social Security Board to apply certain State laws i n m a k i n g its determinat ion as to the relat ionship of dependents and survivors to the wage earner whose insured status is the basis of their c la im to benefits. Section 209 (m) of the act provides: