Paternity Fraud
If a mother is not married and was not married during the 300 days before giving birth, paternity may be established by filing an Acknowledgement of Paternity Affidavit. This affidavit needs to be signed by the mother and father in the presence of witnesses, and it must be notarized. A DNA test is not required if the mother was unmarried during the 300 days before giving birth or at the time of the child's birth and if no one else is listed as the child's father on the child's birth certificate.
Without a DNA test, legal paternity, also known as paternal filiation, may be uncertain. The child's mother may commit paternity fraud and convince a man that he is the child's father even though the mother knows that is not true.
Paternity Fraud Has Consequences
If you are identified as a child's legal father, you may have child support obligations while you are alive, and your child may have inheritance rights after you die. If paternal filiation was established during the father's life and not successfully contested, the child may be a(n):
- Forced heir. Children under the age of 24 or adult children with mental or physical disabilities may be forced heirs in Louisiana. If you die with one forced heir, the child may inherit one-fourth of your estate. If you die with multiple forced heirs, together the children may inherit up to one-half of your estate.
- Intestate beneficiary. If you die with a child (or children) but no spouse, your children inherit all of your property. Even if you are married at the time of your death, your spouse will maintain a usufruct right in the community property to use for your spouse's lifetime, and then the community property will pass to your children. Additionally, all of your separate property will pass to your children.
Paternity fraud can complicate estates and result in estate litigation. Our experienced Louisiana estate litigation lawyers encourage you to contact us if you have concerns about paternity filiation and how it may impact your inheritance. Please contact us today to find out how we can help you.
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When a paternity dispute arises in the context of a Louisiana succession, it must be addressed through the succession court as part of the estate proceedings. If another heir believes that a person claiming inheritance rights is not actually the biological child of the decedent, that challenge must be formally raised. The court evaluates the evidence, which may include DNA testing, birth records, acknowledgment documents, and testimony. Time limits may apply to paternity challenges in the succession context, making early consultation with an attorney essential. Scott Law Group handles complex Louisiana succession matters involving paternity and filiation questions. Contact us or call (504) 264-1057 to discuss your situation. This article provides general information about Louisiana succession law and is not legal advice for your specific situation. Filiation is the legal relationship between a parent and a child, and it is the foundation of inheritance rights in Louisiana. A child can only inherit from a father — or claim forced heir protections — if filiation is legally established. Louisiana Civil Code articles 185 through 198 govern the rules for establishing filiation with a father. The primary methods are: presumption of paternity (when the parents were married at the time of birth), formal acknowledgment (when an unmarried father signs an acknowledgment act or birth certificate), and judicial establishment through an avowal or filiation action. The presumption of paternity is the strongest form. A man who is married to the child’s mother at the time of birth is presumed to be the father under Louisiana Civil Code article 185. This presumption applies regardless of whether the man is actually the biological father, and it can only be overcome through a formal disavowal proceeding — a legal action that must be brought within the prescriptive period defined by Louisiana law. A man who fails to bring a disavowal action within the applicable time period is permanently the legal father for succession purposes, even if he later learns he is not the biological father. For children born outside of marriage, filiation with the father requires some form of acknowledgment or judicial action. A voluntary acknowledgment in a notarial act, a joint acknowledgment on the birth certificate, or a court judgment establishing paternity all create legal filiation. Without one of these, a biological child born outside marriage has no legal claim to inherit from the father through an intestate succession, regardless of how obvious or undisputed the biological relationship may be. Succession proceedings sometimes surface paternity disputes that have been dormant for years or decades. A person who claims to be the child — and therefore the heir — of a deceased man must be able to prove filiation to the court’s satisfaction before they can be included in the succession as an heir. Conversely, established heirs may challenge the claimed filiation of another person who seeks to share in the estate. These disputes are called filiation actions or avowal actions, and they are heard in the same succession proceeding or in a related family law proceeding. DNA evidence has become increasingly important in these disputes. Courts regularly admit DNA testing to establish or disprove biological paternity in succession contexts. When the alleged father is deceased, DNA testing can sometimes be performed using samples from biological relatives — the deceased’s parents, siblings, or children by other relationships. Some jurisdictions have developed protocols for obtaining DNA samples from deceased persons for succession purposes, though this remains legally and practically complex in Louisiana. A posthumous avowal action allows a person who believes they are the child of a deceased man who denied paternity — or who never acknowledged the child — to file a lawsuit to establish filiation after the father’s death. Louisiana Civil Code article 197 provides a one-year prescriptive period for this action, running from the date of the alleged father’s death. Missing this deadline extinguishes the right to establish paternity, which extinguishes any inheritance claim based on that paternity. A filiation dispute can delay or prevent a succession from closing. The court cannot include a claimed heir in the Judgment of Possession until their status as an heir is legally determined. If a person files an avowal action during the succession proceeding, the succession may be held open — at least as to that person’s claimed share — until the filiation case is resolved. Co-heirs whose inheritance is undisputed may be able to receive their shares through a partial distribution while the filiation dispute continues, depending on the court’s approach. For forced heirship purposes, filiation is essential. A child under 24 or permanently incapacitated child with established filiation is a forced heir with a legally protected minimum share. A person whose filiation is disputed or unestablished has no forced heir claim, no matter how compelling their biological evidence may be. The procedural and prescriptive rules are strictly enforced — a claim for forced heir status brought after the prescriptive period for the avowal action has expired is barred regardless of the merits. Estate planning can minimize filiation disputes. A will that specifically names and acknowledges a child — even one whose legal filiation has not been formally established — signals the testator’s intent. While a will cannot itself establish legal filiation, it can be used as evidence of the testator’s recognition of the relationship in a subsequent filiation proceeding. Testators who have children born outside of marriage should consult with an estate attorney to ensure that those children are properly recognized, either through formal acknowledgment or through estate planning documents, to protect their inheritance rights. |