This latest Supreme Court ruling seems to make some sense at a time when many laws, public policies etc., regarding children really don't.
We have to get back to a time when having children had no financial benefit for anybody.
Then many of these scenarios will just fade away on their own.
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http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57438353/supreme-court-rules-that-twins-conceived-after-dads-death-wont-get-survivor-benefits/
Supreme Court rules that twins conceived after dad's
death won't get survivor benefits
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on
Monday ruled that a man's children who were conceived through artificial
insemination after his death cannot get Social Security survivor benefits.
Justices unanimously ruled that
twins born to Robert Capato's surviving wife Karen did not qualify for survivor
benefits because of a requirement that the federal government use state
inheritance laws.
The Capato twins, conceived using
Robert Capato's frozen sperm, were born 18 months after their father died of
esophageal cancer. Karen Capato's application for survivor benefits on behalf
of the twins was rejected by the Social Security Administration, which said
Robert Capato needed to be alive during the children's conception to qualify. A
federal judge agreed, saying they had to qualify as Capato's children before
his death or qualify under state inheritance law as children who could legally
inherit.
Capato died a Florida resident, and
Florida law expressly bars children conceived posthumously from inheritance,
unless they are named in a will. The only beneficiaries named in Capato's will
are his wife, their son and his two children from a previous marriage.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals in Philadelphia overturned that decision, saying the Capato twins were
clearly the biological children of Robert Capato and deserved the survivor
benefits. But other federal appellate courts have ruled differently in similar
cases, leaving the Supreme Court to come to a final conclusion.
"We find the Social Security
Administration's ruling better attuned to the statute's text and its design to
benefit primarily those the deceased wage earner actually supported in his or
her lifetime," Ginsburg said. "And even if the agency's longstanding
interpretation is not the only reasonable one, it is at least a permissible
construction entitled to deference."
The case was heard by the
Philadelphia appeals court because Karen Capato unsuccessfully argued that her
children should have been considered citizens of New Jersey, which has
different inheritance laws from Florida. The twins were conceived in Florida,
but Karen Capato moved to New Jersey during the pregnancy.
Ginsburg called Robert Capato's
death before he and his wife could provide their children with additional
siblings "tragic."
But "the law Congress enacted
calls for resolution of Karen Capato's application for child's insurance
benefits by reference to state intestacy law," she said. "We cannot
replace that reference by creating a uniform federal rule that statute's text
scarcely supports."
7 Comments:
I don't think a mom whose only "mistake" is seeking shelter from an abusive situation should lose custody of her child.
Adoption can be a good thing if both parents are abusive and there aren't any extended relatives to step in.
1.) Ideally, mom or dad (or both) will protect and care for the child. By going to a shelter, that (to me) demonstrates caring about the child's safety.
2.) If neither parent is safe (and by unsafe, I mean abuse or severe neglect), then relatives might be the next best option.
3.) If relatives can't or won't step in, ideally that child would adopted -- not bounced between foster homes until the child gets messed up.
Children deserve safety and permanency.
What confuses is me is the scenario you mentioned. I would have to know more about it. Mom's who flee abusive partners are proving their love and devotion to the child (in my mind). Not something that the mom should lose custody for...
Please check out my blog sometime.
Like you, I was raised in a form of state care, not my own family. So yes, I do agree that children, with abusive, negligent or even incompetent parents deserve permanent homes; HOWEVER that does NOT appear to be the case here...
It appears to be the case that children who resembled 'gerber babies' according to the article were quickly removed from their mothers and adopted out with the only reason being their mothers were vulnerable due to being in a shelter...
Anyway, welcome to blogdom...
Like I said, for a mom to flee an abusive partner and seek safety is an act of motherly love.
Her choice should be rewarded by support, not punished by taking her child.
How can I contact these people? (Meaning the people who took the children?) I would like to make some phone calls and even contact the local newspaper.
I live in Ohio now, but when I lived in foster placements they were in Kentucky. So, I already know the foster system in Kentucky is flawed.
In Ohio, it's a county-based system, so changes can start from the bottom and go up. Each county can make their own decisions.
In Kentucky, it's a state system (beaurocrasy), so decisions are made from the top and go down.
A mother who seeks refuge from an abusive husband has rights that need to be protected.
If you ever want to share your insights or personal story, I'm just an email away.
Good luck...
My daughter was taken from me by CPS over a year ago. I had a messy home after moving and my family had called on me. CPS worker insisted I was a hoarder when I am not. Then the worker lied and said I "admitted" to things I never said. My daughter was taken and put into "therapy" where she was told how unstable I am and how I was delusional and made up the DV her father committed against me. This "therapy" lasted about a year. Then, they sent her to live with her abusive father who hadn't had visitation with her since she was a baby. She is almost 16 years old.
I am no longer allowed to see my child. I am considered too dangerous because of the lies told against me. I even had evidence the worker was lying but was denied a trial. They wrote that I stipulated to the charges while I was objecting to them. My character has been assassinated in my community and now I have to move somewhere to find peace.
There was an obvious double standard. My daughter asked me one question about something and I responded with the truth. This happened one time. I was considered emotionally abusing her for answering a question because I said something about her father. So, my talking about her father is abuse. However, he was allowed to badmouth me to her in every contact they allowed with her for over a year and it was not considered abuse.
The case was over before it began. I jumped through all their hoops. They even said I complied but said it wasn't good enough and that I hadn't "learned my lesson."
They kept telling lies about me the whole time. They never had to submit evidence of the lies. Whatever they said was automatically the truth. I was guilty without a chance to prove my innocence.
From the age of your daughter I must say she had to have some say in the matter as I don't think they could have forced her to live there if she didn't want to...
This could have been much worse if she was still little as she might not even had any memories of you if they took her away early.
I think she'll be in touch on her own eventually. Meanwhile you can just try to live as well as possible until then...
Good luck. Stay in touch.