What is Legitimation?

 What is involved in the legitimation of a child? 

Fathers can lose the right to legitimate their child by waiting too long.  The law says that they have lost their opportunity interest.

Believe it or not...we have a putative father registry in the State of Georgia.  If an unmarried man has intercourse with a woman he can register this on the putative registry so that if the woman gives birth he has to be notified of any adoption proceedings!!

Many people have never heard of this term. Legitimation is the process of making the child of an unwed mother legal. There are no longer "illegitimate" children in the State of Georgia. The term "illegitimate" is not used in the Code of Georgia. Several years ago the entire code of the State of Georgia was changed. The term "illegitimate" was changed to "child of unwed mother". Many felt the term illegitimate was degrading so it was removed from the code. But we still have the term Legitimation.

Simply put, by legitimating a child the father gives the child the right to inherit from him and establishes himself as the legal father. As the legal father, the father can then assert visitation or custodial rights. These are commonly called access rights. The father can give the child his last name. But only the Father must assert these rights. The Mother cannot legitimate the child. The action, generally, must be in the county where the Mother resides.

The Father files the action in the county where the mother resides. Generally speaking, unless the father has lost his "opportunity interest" the law favors legitimation. The opportunity interest is lost if the Father ignores the child for years before filing his case. So, generally speaking, the case should be filed as soon as possible after the child's birth to avoid this defense. The issues in a legitimation case can be complicated by the Father's decision to seek visitation or custodial rights. Child support is almost always an issue, too.

Still have questions? Please contact us anytime! We look forward to hearing from you.