Finley v. Commissioner, Social Security Administration
Arkansas Supreme Court
270 S.W.3d 849 (2008)
Amy Finley (plaintiff) and her husband Wade underwent IVF, producing ten embryos, four of which were frozen. Wade died intestate in 2001. In 2002, Amy had two of the frozen embryos implanted, and she gave birth in 2003. She sought Social Security survivor benefits for the child based on Wade's earnings, but the Social Security Administration (defendant) denied the claim. A federal district court certified to the Arkansas Supreme Court the question of whether the child could inherit from Wade as a surviving child under Arkansas intestacy law.
Whether a child created as an embryo through in vitro fertilization during the parents' marriage, but implanted into the mother's womb after the father's intestate death, may inherit from the father absent legislative action.