Inheritance Rights of Illegitimate Children
Posted on | August 3, 2010 | 5 Comments
Inheritance laws give illegitimate children, or what the courts sometimes refer to as non-marital children, the same inheritance rights as legitimate children. The laws of inheritance determine who inherits if there is no will, if a will has been contested and denied probate or if the will does not dispose of all of the property. If there is a valid will that disposes of all of the property, it and not the laws of inheritance determine who receives the property. To learn more, look at this page and this page.
The biggest problem that an illegitimate child encounters is the issue of paternity. If everyone agrees that the illegitimate child is the child of the parent, then the child would take a part of the property the same as any other child. If, however, as usually happens, some family members deny that the child is the child of the parent, then the illegitimate child has to prove paternity before he would be entitle to take his share of the property. Each state has time limits within which the child must take action to prove paternity. If the child waits too long, he may not inherit even if he can prove paternity.
Another problem facing an illegitimate child is not knowing who their natural parents are. If a child doesn’t find out who his natural parents are until after their death, he must act quickly or he could loose forever his rights to inherit. The Texas Supreme Court in recent rulings has been tough on children who didn’t start inheritance proceedings in time even in those cases when the child did not know or could not know who his natural parents were. I’ve discussed this issue here. Since the courts are not willing to extend the time for illegitimate children to take action to obtain their inheritance, early action is necessary.
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September 13th, 2010 @ 7:08 pm
I discovered that I was an illegitimate child at the age of 47. I have been unsuccessful in getting the man I believe is my father to cooperate in giving me a DNA sample, and have been told I have no rights. I want to state clearly, in my case I don’t want anything from this man- but a DNA sample to know the truth. But if a person dicovers as an adult that they are illegitimate and can’t force a DNA sample legally, how can they begin any kind of formal proceedings to claim an inheritance? I live in CA.
September 14th, 2010 @ 9:03 am
Thanks for the comment.
Since your father is still alive, you should contact an attorney who handles family law cases rather than a probate attorney. We handle contested probate cases in Texas. An attorney in CA who handles family law would be your best bet. They should be able to assist you.
Good luck!
May 19th, 2011 @ 12:52 pm
A good private detective should be able to obtain a DNA sample from anything on which the father’s bodily fluids can be found: a cigarette, chewing gum, beverage container uch as cup or glass, cutlery such as fork or spoon, licked envelope flap, razor, toothbrush, hairbrush (the hair sample has to include the follicle.
Detectives (both private and fron law enforcement) have employed some really creative ways to obtain DNA: posing as domestic help, rooting through garbage left at the curb, grabbing
May 19th, 2011 @ 1:13 pm
A good private detective should be able to obtain a DNA sample from anything on which the father’s bodily fluids can be found: a cigarette, chewing gum, beverage container such as cup or glass, cutlery such as fork or spoon, licked envelope flap, razor, toothbrush, hairbrush (the hair sample has to include the follicle), communion cup, fitness club equipment, used Kleenex tissues, used Band-Aids, .
Detectives (both private and from law enforcement) have employed some really creative ways to obtain DNA samples: posing as domestic help, washroom staff or medical/dental assistant, rooting through items left at the curb or in a hotel room, grabbing things from the restaurant table either as a guest or as waitstaff, swabbing a urinal, “accidentally” brushing the target’s skin with adhesive tape…the list goes on.
This is expensive, can cost >$10,000; if professionally done it can hold up well in court. Problem: a will usually trumps any intestacy inheritance laws–although in some jurisdictions there is a minimum share for each child.
June 17th, 2011 @ 2:16 pm
I am an illegitimate son of a Mormon Elder that died in Texas in 2001 I didn’t know for sure he was my father until this year when my mother myself and presumed father all agreed to take a blood type test we are not compatible. I contacted the family and they denied denied denied and when I persisted their Mormon Lawyer wrote to me to stop contacting them and go through them. They said there is a will and that my father knew about me but in his will was a clause that if I or anyone ever tried to contest and won they would receive 1 USD.
Is that legal?
Brian