Family law is a complex field with a long and equally complex history. Our team at Hildebrand Law Office, P.C. has extensive experience in family law, and we offer a wide range of services to help you do what’s best for your family.
In this article, we’d like to focus on legitimation. Keep reading to learn more about what this process is and how it works.
- What is Legitimacy? To understand legitimation, you first need to understand the concepts of legitimacy and illegitimacy as they relate to family law. A child is considered legitimate if the child’s parents are married to each other, and if both parents acknowledge the child as theirs. If a child is born to an unwed mother, or is the product of an extramarital affair, then the child is considered to be illegitimate, and this can have negative consequences for the child, both socially and legally.
- What is Legitimation? Legitimation is a legal process in which the father of the child acknowledges their relationship, which establishes a formal link between the father and the child. This in turn creates a foundation for the establishment of the father’s legal responsibilities—legitimation is often necessary to set up child support from the father, as well as to establish visitation rights and custody. In addition, legitimation also makes it possible to add the father’s name to the child’s birth certificate, and to do things like the father claiming the child as a dependent for tax purposes or add the child to his insurance plan.