A child born out of wedlock inherits from the mother’s side automatically, but inherits from the father only if one of the conditions in OCGA 53-2-3 is satisfied.
What the Statute Requires
OCGA 53-2-3 governs the inheritance rights of a child born out of wedlock. From the mother, the other children of the mother, and any maternal kin, the child inherits the same as if legitimate. From the father and paternal kin, the child may not inherit unless the statute’s conditions are met.
Those conditions accept several different kinds of proof:
- A court order declaring the child legitimate
- A court order otherwise establishing paternity
- A sworn statement signed by the father attesting to the parent-child relationship
- The father’s signature on the child’s birth certificate
- An acknowledgment of paternity made under oath in one of the forms the child support statutes recognize
- Other clear and convincing evidence that the child is the child of the father
- An unrebutted presumption of paternity from genetic testing
Genetic Proof Can Be Enough
In In re Estate of Warren, 300 Ga. App. 408 (2009), a woman established that she was a deceased man’s daughter and heir on DNA evidence alone. No one had ever legitimated her or filed a paternity case during his lifetime.
Near Enough Does Not Count
The requirements are formal ones. In In re Estate of Hawkins, 328 Ga. App. 436 (2014), a man raised a boy as his son, signed a paternity acknowledgment, and claimed him as a dependent for federal benefits. The document had been witnessed but never sworn before anyone authorized to administer an oath, and his name on the birth certificate was not his signature. The Court of Appeals held the child was not his heir.
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This post is a quick overview of the law and is not intended as legal advice. Please feel free to contact our office for a consultation if you have questions about this or any other legal aspects regarding your case!