Source: https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/1505705048
Timestamp: 2018-01-17 12:51:04
Document Index: 499604978

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1', '§ 6', '§ 402', '§ 404', '§ 416', '§ 404']

SSA - POMS: PR 05705.048 - Texas - 06/01/2009
PR 05705.048 Texas
A. PR 09-106 Texas State Law When More Than One Person Claims To Be Surviving Spouse (Number Holder (NH), Joe M~, Jr., SSN ~ - REPLY
This memorandum is in response to your request for an opinion regarding whether Jenny L. D~ (Ms. D~) can receive surviving spouse's benefits on the Social Security record of Joe M~, Jr. (Mr. M~). Specifically, you have asked whether the Texas presumption of the validity of the last marriage applies when Ms. D~ was the second of at least four spouses of Mr. M~ and there is no evidence of a divorce between Mr. M~ and his first alleged spouse, Minnie M~ M~ (Ms. M~). If Ms. D~ is not entitled to surviving spouse's benefits, you have asked whether she can receive surviving divorced spouse's benefits on Mr. M~'s record. In our opinion, evidence that Ms. M~ and Mr. M~ never divorced rebuts the presumption of the validity of the later marriage between Ms. D~ and Mr. M~. As a result, the marriage between Ms. D~ and Mr. M~ was void under Texas state law. Since Ms. D~ and Mr. M~ were never validly married, she is similarly ineligible for surviving divorced spouse's benefits.
As we understand the facts, Mr. M~ was entitled to Disability Insurance Benefits from May 1993 until his death, which occurred in Texas on December 8, 1993. There are competing claims for surviving spouse benefits on Mr. M~'s Social Security record. The evidence you provided shows that Mr. M~ had at least four marriages./
On November 2, 1965, Mr. M~ married Ms. M~. Ms. M~ reported that she and Mr. M~ separated in 1970 or 1971. She stated that to her knowledge there was never a divorce. The Social Security Administration (agency) searches of divorce records indicated that divorce proceedings were initiated on two occasions in Galveston, Texas, but a divorce was never finalized.
On March 25, 1970, Mr. M~ married Ms. D~. According to Ms. D~, she and Mr. M~ separated in 1971. She reported that she never divorced Mr. M~ and that Mr. M~ never notified her that he divorced her. Agency searches of divorce records produced no evidence of a divorce between Mr. M~ and Ms. D~.
On December 26, 1974, Mr. M~ married Annie D. H~ (Ms. H~). A child, Lowanda M~ (Lowanda), was born during the marriage. The agency indicates that it received evidence that Mr. M~ and Ms. H~ divorced in June 1979 in Many, Louisiana.
On May 8, 1985, Mr. M~ married Ora T~ (Ms. T~). The marriage ended with Ms. T~'s death on July 9, 1993.
1) Mr. M~'s January 28, 1993, Disability Application: At the time of the application, Mr. M~ was living in Texas City, Texas. Mr. M~ stated that he was currently married to Ms. T~. He reported that he had married Ms. T~ on May 8, 1985, in Port Arthur, Texas. Mr. M~ also reported one prior marriage to Virginia (Surname Unknown). He stated that the marriage took place in Port Arthur, Texas in 1969, and that the marriage ended by divorce on an unknown date in Orange, Texas.
3) Ms. H~'s March 25, 1994, Application for Surviving Child Benefits for Lowanda: Ms. H~ stated that she and Mr. M~ married in June 1974 in Center, Texas, and divorced about June 1979 in Many, Louisiana. During the marriage, Lowanda was born on October 2, 1975, in Seattle, Washington. The agency reviewed divorce papers listing Lowanda as a child of Mr. M~ and Ms. H~.
4) Ms. M~'s January 30, 2002, Application for Widow's Benefits: At the time of her application, Ms. M~ was living in Bossier City, Louisiana. Ms. M~ stated that she and Mr. M~ married on November 2, 1965, in Orange City, Texas. She reported that Mr. M~ had one prior marriage that ended in divorce, but she did not have any further information about the prior marriage. Ms. M~ stated that she and Mr. M~ lived together for eight or nine years before separating. She indicated that she never filed for divorce and never received any notice that Mr. M~ had filed for a divorce.
6) Ms. D~'s April 2, 2007, Disability Application: Ms. D~'s address had not changed. She stated that she had Mr. M~ had married in January 1964 in Erns, Texas, and had not divorced. Ms. D~ supplied no proof of the marriage.
8) Ms. D~'s and Mr. M~'s Marriage Certificate: On March 25, 1970, Mr. M~ and Ms. D~ were married before a Justice of the Peace in Orange, Texas.
10) Report of Contact with Ms. M~: Ms. M~ stated that she married Mr. M~ in Orange, Texas, on November 2, 1965. She reported that they moved to Galveston, Texas, where their two children were born. Ms. M~ stated that they moved to Starks, Louisiana, around 1969. She reported that she and Mr. M~ separated in 1970 or 1971. Ms. M~ reported that she then moved to Homer, Louisiana, and she believed that Mr. M~ moved to Orange, Texas. She stated that she saw Mr. M~ in the late 1970s or early 1980s in Shreveport, Louisiana, where he was then living and working. Ms. M~ stated that Mr. M~ told her they were still married and that he had no intention of ever seeking a divorce from her. Ms. M~ indicated that Mr. M~ did not mention any other marriages. She indicated that her sister, who lived in Orange, Texas, told her Mr. M~ later moved back to Orange, Texas. Ms. M~ reported that she moved to Bossier City, Louisiana in October 1990. She stated as far as she knew, she and Mr. M~ were still married at the time of his death.
a) Shelby County, Texas: Mr. M~ and Ms. H~ married on December 26, 1974.
b) Orange County, Texas, Online Search: Mr. M~ and Ms. D~ married on March 25, 1970.
c) Orange County, Texas, Volume Search: Mr. M~ and Ms. M~ married on November 2, 1965.
Every marriage entered into in Texas is presumed valid unless expressly void or expressly voidable and the marriage is annulled. Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 1.101 (Vernon 2009). Under Texas law, a marriage is void if it is "entered into when either party has an existing marriage to another person that has not been dissolved by legal action or terminated by the death of the other spouse." Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 6.202 (Vernon 2009). Here, Ms. D~'s marriage to Mr. M~ was later than Ms. M~'s marriage to Mr. M~. The evidence shows Ms. D~ married Mr. M~ on March 25, 1970, in Orange County, Texas. The agency's search of divorce records uncovered no evidence of a divorce between Ms. D~ and Mr. M~. However, the agency obtained evidence that Ms. M~ married Mr. M~ five years before his marriage to Ms. D~, on November 2, 1965, in Orange County, Texas. The agency found no record of a finalized divorce between Ms. M~ and Mr. M~. Thus, Ms. D~ and Mr. M~ entered into their marriage at a time when Mr. M~ was married to Ms. M~. This preexisting marriage between Ms. M~ and Mr. M~, if sufficiently proven, would render the later marriage between Ms. D~ and Mr. M~ void.
Ms. H~' application for surviving child benefits on Lowanda's behalf stated that she and Mr. M~ married in Center, Texas, within Shelby County, Texas. The agency found no record of divorce between Ms. M~ and Mr. M~ in Shelby County. Ms. H~ also reported that Lowanda was born in Seattle, Washington, within King County. The agency was unable to search the divorce records in King County, but concluded that it was unlikely that Mr. M~ obtained a divorce from Ms. M~ in that county. Ms. M~ was only required to prove the non-existence of a divorce in jurisdictions where the parties might reasonably have been expected to pursue them. Medrano, 701 S.W.2d at 341. According to statements the agency provided, Mr. M~ was a truck driver who traveled across the country, but there is no evidence that he changed his residence outside of Texas or Louisiana. Because there is no evidence indicating that Mr. M~ ever resided in Seattle, Washington, it would not be reasonable to expect that he would have obtained a divorce there. Thus, the unavailability of a divorce record search from King County, Washington does not affect this case.
Finally, we conclude that Ms. D~ cannot qualify for surviving divorced spouse benefits under Mr. M~'s record. An individual may be entitled to surviving divorced spouse's benefits if she is the number holder's surviving divorce spouse and meets the other requirements for eligibility. 42 U.S.C. § 402(e)(1) (2009); 20 C.F.R. § 404.336 (2009)./ A claimant can meet this relationship requirement if she and the number holder were validly married under state law or were deemed to be validly married under state law. See 42 U.S.C. § 416(h)(1)(A)(i) (2009); 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.336, 404.345, 404.346 (2009). The standard for the validity of a marriage under state law is the same for surviving