In re Estate of Farmer


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Docket Number: 2006-CA-01378-SCT

Supreme Court: Opinion Link
Opinion Date: 09-13-2007
Opinion Author: WALLER, P.J.
Holding: Affirmed

Additional Case Information: Topic: Wills & estates - Inheritance by illegitimate minor - Section 93-9-28 - Section 91-1-15(3)(a)
Judge(s) Concurring: Smith, C.J., Diaz, P.J., Easley, Carlson, Graves, Dickinson, Randolph and Lamar, JJ.
Procedural History: Bench Trial
Nature of the Case: CIVIL - WILLS, TRUSTS, AND ESTATES

Trial Court: Date of Trial Judgment: 06-22-2006
Appealed from: LOWNDES COUNTY CHANCERY COURT
Judge: Dorothy W. Colom
Disposition: After hearing the evidence, the chancellor found an illegitimate minor son to be the sole heir at law.
Case Number: 2005-0033-C

  Party Name: Attorney Name:  
Appellant: Peter Farmer, Sr.




TERRY WALLACE



 

Appellee: Unknown NANCY H. STUART  

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Topic: Wills & estates - Inheritance by illegitimate minor - Section 93-9-28 - Section 91-1-15(3)(a)

Summary of the Facts: Peter Farmer, Sr., as administrator of the Estate of Peter Farmer, Jr., filed a petition to determine heirs. The chancellor found an illegitimate minor son to be the sole heir at law. Farmer appeals.

Summary of Opinion Analysis: Section 93-9-28 establishes a procedure by which the natural father of an illegitimate child may voluntarily acknowledge the child as his own. Within twenty-four hours of the birth of the child, the health care providers who assisted in the delivery of the child provide the father with a form generated by the Mississippi Department of Health. The father completes and executes the form before a notary public associated with the health care provider. The form is then be forwarded to the Department of Health. Upon receipt, the Department of Health enters the name of the father on the certificate of birth. Section 91-1-15 requires an illegitimate child to establish paternity before, or within a specific period of time after, the death of the putative father. The requirements of section 91-1-15(3)(a) are satisfied by section 93-9-28, such that the minor can inherit from his natural father where the father has executed an acknowledgment of paternity. In this case, an attested copy of the minor child’s birth certificate and a signed and notarized copy of the acknowledgment of paternity, both bearing the signature of Peter Louis Farmer, Jr., were supplemented to the record. Therefore, the chancellor’s judgment is supported by substantial evidence.


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