StacksVerified U.S. regulatory reference

20 CFR §222.34

Verified against eCFR.gov as of June 20, 2026View official text on eCFR.gov ↗
In many States, where a legal adoption proceeding was defective under State law or where a contemplated legal adoption was not completed, a claimant may be considered to be an equitably adopted child. A claimant will have the relationship of an equitably adopted child for annuity and lump-sum payment purposes if, in addition to meeting the other requirements of this part—
  1. (a)The employee had agreed to adopt the claimant; and
  2. (b)The natural parents or the person legally responsible for the care of the claimant agreed to the adoption; and
  3. (c)The employee and the claimant lived together as parent and child; and
  4. (d)The agreement to adopt is recognized under applicable State law such that, if the employee were to die without leaving a will, the claimant could inherit a share of the employee's personal estate as the child of the employee.