I stand to inheritate my father's estate but have been sent a letter from the solicitors dealing with this that I need a DNA test to prove he is my father even though he is on my birth certificate. He was married to my mother at the time (who is also deceased). He was in ireland so the law might be different there to here in england. Also how do you get DNA from a dead person (he has already been buried). I have three sibblings who will need DNA testing as well.
2007-01-07 22:03:47 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
i think so
2007-01-07 22:05:04 · answer #1 · answered by Davran 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Under English law if your parents are married at the time you are born, then you are deemed to be the child of your father (i.e. your mother's husband.) I have found a link which gives me reason to believe that the position is the same in Ireland. http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:NmLp429YQ1sJ:historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/S/0014/S.0014.193103180010.html+ireland+children+born+in+wedlock+legitimacy&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=4 This being the assumption under the law, the only reason for disputing it would be if there were some question about the legality of the marriage itself.
I think that it is possible to carry out DNA tests using samples from relatives of the deceased. The Duke of Edinburgh, for example, gave a DNA sample for testing the bodies of the murdered Russian royal family, as his mother was a sister of the Tsarina.
2007-01-08 15:32:57 · answer #2 · answered by Doethineb 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your name being on the birth certificate would mean that in the eyes of the law you are an offspring of the deceased. BUT.. that does not insure you to an equal portion of his estate. A person can distribute their estate any way they want and can request any method of deciding how that estate is distributed. It is his money to do with as he pleases. Whether or not you are a child of his means nothing. His name on your birth certificate would only be relevent if there were no will at which time I doubt they would ask for a DNA sample. The birth certificate would be sufficient and probably not even necessary.
I can't imagine what scenario has played out to bring about a request like this.
If your father made a request for this as a stipulation of distributing his estate this is just awful. You are not responsible for what transpired to bring you into this world. The same for your siblings. I hope you have a good relationship with your siblings. If you do, you all need to get together and stand together to do what is right and make sure that noone is left out. It seems like someone is being targeted and it may not be you. If your father believed that your mother was unfaithful to him it may be any of the children that he believes may not be his. Regardless, this is a heartless thing to do.
You have a choice to make. Play along and give the sample and accept whatever happens or agree to give the sample but demand that it be done in a completely foolproof way.
If this were to happen to me and I found out that the man I believed to be my father requested this I would demand that before they test me they exhume him and take a sample with witnesses representing you present. Preferrably a physician and attorney. I would also ask that they take a sample from a living sibling of his to match with the sample taken from your father.
It may have absolutely no legal relevence to the current situation but I would begin to lay a foundation and ask what contribution that your mother made to his life that impacted the size of his estate. If your mothers contribution to the marriage positively impacted the size of his estate you may have to reopen legal proceedings as to what her will had to say and then somehow dispute his will. I know it sounds absurd but so does what they are asking of you. Your mother may have passed away believing as any reasonable person would, that if she leaves her share of the estate to her spouse and if something were to happen to her spouse that the estate would be evenly divided amongst the children. You may need an attorney that is willing to fight for you on this one.
I just can't imagine why they would ask for something like this unless it was your father who requested it.
2007-01-08 06:29:05 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Say you are quite willing to have a DNA test done at the expense of the estate but ask the solicitor where they plan to get material to match your father's DNA.
2007-01-08 06:07:18 · answer #4 · answered by D B 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Get a lawyer onside, i think you will need to take a DNA test as this will prove whether or not he is your real father, Sounds like someone else is trying to get their hands on the money too, are there any other relatives involved ? as for DNA, they may well have that from other members of the family which will tell them who is related, but as i say get a lawyer
2007-01-11 14:42:17 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
There would have to be some serious doubt about him being your father for anyone to ask for a DNA test. It is very unlikely that anyone would want to exume his body to take DNA. Depending on how long ago he was buried there might not be any material to take DNA from.
2007-01-08 06:09:07 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Get a lawyer....now !!
2007-01-08 06:19:53 · answer #7 · answered by Frann 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋