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Family Court makes paternity declaration for 85 year old woman…
An 85-year-old claimant sought a paternity declaration from the Family Court. The claimant’s mother had her out of wedlock with her father, who had hired her mother as a housekeeper. The claimant was told of her father's identity when she was 18 years old.
The father had died in 1972 leaving seven children. One of the children, being the claimant’s half-brother, predeceased his father and died with no Will, and without a spouse or children. This meant the estate would be left to his remaining siblings.
Under New Zealand law an administrator of an estate is required to make reasonable enquiries whether any person may have a claim before distributing it. When a potential claimant is identified, the administrator is required to serve a notice on the claimant to advise them of their right to ask the court for a declaration.
In this case another half-brother of the claimant was the administrator of the estate. He arranged a DNA test which showed the claimant and the administrator to be related.
A half-sister of the claimant opposed the declaration, arguing that there should be no paternity declaration for the claimant since the father died 52 years ago, and other relatives who could have provided more biological evidence had also passed away.
She also argued that there was no actual relationship between the claimant and her father in the form of love, affection and maintenance, or any social or moral connection.
The Family Court disagreed with the half-sister, describing her argument as ‘draconian’.
The Court explained that the law was made to eliminate the legal disadvantages for children born out of wedlock. The Court stated that if a claimant had to establish such a connection or bond with their father to succeed, fathers could defeat such claims by simply walking away from their children.
The Court was satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the claimant was the daughter of the father and granted the paternity declaration.
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