In the case of Mathews, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare v. Weber (1975), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Weber by a 9-0 vote. The issue at hand was whether an illegitimate child could receive Social Security benefits from their disabled parent under Title II of the Social Security Act if they were not dependent on that parent for support or living with them at the time they became disabled. The court held that such children are entitled to these benefits as long as paternity has been established and is legally recognized by state law where inheritance rights are concerned. This ruling clarified previous ambiguity regarding eligibility criteria for social security survivor's benefits for non-marital children.

In the case of Mathews, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare v. Weber (1975), Justice William H. Rehnquist was the sole dissenter. He argued that Congress did not intend to allow a stepchild to receive Social Security benefits unless their stepparent provided at least half of their support before death or disability occurred. According to him, this interpretation is consistent with other provisions in the Act where "dependency" is used as a criterion for eligibility for benefits and it also aligns with legislative history which shows that Congress intended these benefits to replace lost support due from wage earner's earnings rather than serve as general welfare payments. He believed that majority’s decision would lead to an unjustified expansion of federal benefit programs beyond what was intended by lawmakers.