Steele v. Commissioner of Social Security
On certified questions from the Eleventh Circuit, the Florida Supreme Court construed section 742.17(4), Florida Statutes, which bars a posthumously conceived child from claiming against a decedent's estate unless 'provided for by the decedent's will.' The Court held that 'provided for' means the testator actually left something to the posthumously conceived child through the will and that the will must show the testator contemplated the possibility of a child being conceived after his or her death. Because Mr. Steele's will gave everything to his wife and, in the alternative, only to children 'then living' at his death, it did not provide for P.S.S., so the child had no claim against the estate.
Key facts
- Mr. Steele executed a will leaving everything to his wife, with alternative provisions limiting any distribution to children 'then living' at his death; he died with stored genetic material that was later used to conceive a child posthumously.
- P.S.S., the posthumously conceived child, sought to claim against Mr. Steele's estate and sought Social Security survivor benefits based on the decedent's earnings record.
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Why it matters
This is the first Florida Supreme Court construction of section 742.17(4) and it directly affects estate planning and Social Security survivor-benefit claims for children conceived through assisted reproduction after a… — full analysis with a trial
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