[Request for Reconsideration of Decision Concerning Claims for Unpaid Compensation]

An individual requested reconsideration of a decision that denied her claim and a competing claim for a deceased civilian employee's unpaid compensation. In her request for reconsideration, the mother contended that documents that supported the employee's alleged son's paternal recognition were fraudulent because of the time and place of the alleged son's birth. GAO held that, although the alleged son's claim had statutory priority, in the absence of a court determination as to the validity of the document, his status as the deceased employee's son was too uncertain to authorize payment to either claimant. Accordingly, the claims were denied.