View Full Version : What to do after paternity test proves that deceased father is not the biological dad
grieving sister
Apr 20, 2013, 10:59 PM
My only brother died 2 yrs ago. His widow wife informed us that she had cheated on him most of their 1 1/2 yr marriage. DNA has proven that the child is not my brothers, but he signed BC. Can the courts take my brothers name off the BC with him deceased?
J_9
Apr 20, 2013, 11:05 PM
If they were married at the time of the birth, your brother would be considered the legal father of the child. What do you stand to gain if he is removed?
I am very sorry for your loss.
grieving sister
Apr 20, 2013, 11:19 PM
He is drawing more SSI support than all my brothers other 3 children that is biologically his. That is not fair to them. She has went own with her life fixing to get remarried, and won't even let us see the child. So why should my biological niece and nephews have to do without while sum kid other than my blood live off what is right forly theirs!
J_9
Apr 20, 2013, 11:21 PM
Were they married when the child was born?
grieving sister
Apr 20, 2013, 11:26 PM
Yes and he was accidentally shot 3 months later.
Another question: She is trying to take everything from my Borthers children, since she told my mother directly face to face that she committed adultry, and the child's not his. Is she still entitled to all is estate and assests?
Alty
Apr 20, 2013, 11:55 PM
She was his wife, and according to the law any children born to a married couple, are considered to be the offspring of the husband.
If he had a will, and left all of his worldly goods to his wife and children, that is his right. I know that your argument is that he wasn't aware that one of the children isn't his, but are you seriously suggesting that the wife not get his estate to care for all the children, including those that are his, or are you suggesting that only his biological children are cared for, but the child that isn't his should get nothing?
She is entitled to the estate and assets as his wife. Let this go, it will only cause you more grief.
I'm so sorry for your loss.
joypulv
Apr 21, 2013, 03:02 AM
Please explain the differences in SSI amounts? How do you even know how much she gets for each child?
The law says that he is the father of the child because he signed the birth certificate and was married to the mother when she had the child, and didn't dispute it while he was alive.
I do hope that people won't ruin that child's life with petty disputes over money, no matter how awful the widow is.
ScottGem
Apr 21, 2013, 04:24 AM
SSI is done by formula. I'm not sure how one child would be entitled to more than any other child under the formula.
cdad
Apr 21, 2013, 05:15 AM
Quite frankly Im going to say this so its clear to you. You not seeing the child has nothing to do with anything. The child had a legal father so they aren't doing anything illegal collecting SSi. All of this really is none of your business. Im sorry for your loss but to pick on an innocent child is beyond vindictive. Please get help for you and your family as it sounds like this is carrying forward and being projected onto her and the child. Get help soon.
grieving sister
Apr 21, 2013, 06:52 AM
First of all she is not raising none of my brothers children she locked them out of their own house, and changed the locks they can't even get their clothes. This house was where they lived for 11yrs before he married her, so how you c that a cheating widower and a child no relation to my brother deserves his estates. She has nothing to do with his kids. And I am raising my brothers oldest son and he draws 100 less than the child that's not his. Don't understand it eithor. And it is all of my business when I am willing to and able to raise each and everyone of his children plus I'm already a single mother of 2 children of my own.
ScottGem
Apr 21, 2013, 07:26 AM
And again, how do you know what he draws?
Did your brother leave a will?
It is unfortunate, but as your brother's legal wife and legal son, they are entitled to inherit unless you can prove she was involved in the shooting.
How old are his other children? Whether he had a will or not, they should stand to inherit something. So it may have been illegal for her to lock them out.
As for facts, we can only judge by what you tell us. If you don't give us enough info then we may not make the right response.
cdad
Apr 21, 2013, 08:52 AM
First of all she is not raising none of my brothers children she locked them out of their own house, and changed the locks they can't even get their clothes. this house was where they lived for 11yrs before he married her, so how u c that a cheating widower and a child no relation to my brother deserves his estates. she has nothing to do with his kids. and i am raising my brothers oldest son and he draws 100 less than the child thats not his. dont understand it eithor. and it is all of my business when i am willing to and able to raise each and everyone of his children plus i'm already a single mother of 2 children of my own.
Its clear there are issues here. But if you post on a law board then your going to get responses consistent with the law. With him being married to her the law weighs heavily in her favor. The fact that the child was born of the marriage means he is the legal father - That's the law. The fact that the child gets a draw from his SSI is consistent with the law. If you and your family are having trouble with that because of your loss then get help with grief counseling. If you have other legal issues then post them to this thread and we will try to address them. If you don't like the answers because they follow the law then either seek to change future law or learn to deal with it as is. Making an issue over something that doesn't exist and you can not change is a problem your going to have to solve. Counseling would help with that so you can cope into the future.
grieving sister
Apr 21, 2013, 09:46 AM
Im having a hard time dealing with his death, he was my only sibling and I should apologize for snapping off at the mouth. See my brother was unhappy with her because she didn't except his kids there was a 9yr age difference between them but she did not except his kids. See we were raised your kids first, they are helpless to this world and you as a parent are here to protect them. See I started a lawsuit against the gun maker, I'm not allow to say the brand its one of the most popular gun makers and history but his gun was very defected and we won well his widow took every penny, she wouldn't even give his children a dime of it. And till about a yr ago we were very close I even moved my house to my brothers land so she wouldn't b alone, that's how I know what she draws from SSI. His other children's mother and I talk too. She has went back to her old life style of using hard drugs. She stopped all that when she got w/my brother. And anow she's trying to take everything else my bro workd so hard for all his life for to leave his kids. We even offered to give her his house but to leave his kids the land and she said no she wants it all. So where do we go from here?
ScottGem
Apr 21, 2013, 10:03 AM
Again, did he have a will? What state are you in? That is key info. Also who was the plaintiff in the law suit against the gun mfg? Did you have an attorney. I wonder how it was left that she got the whole settlement?
grieving sister
Apr 21, 2013, 07:15 PM
Again, did he have a will? What state are you in? That is key info. Also who was the plaintiff in the law suit against the gun mfg? Did you have an attorney. I wonder how it was left that she got the whole settlement?
No he didn't have a will, and we live n TN. Well I made the first original call and meeting with {name removed}, and 3 others out of Missouri and Oklahoma. But they had to put it and my sis-n-law name cause they were married. They settled with us at 300,000, and on the way home from the gun mfg settling and admitting that it was there fault my brother died at the hands of his 9yr old son his widower told my mom that she had affair for 13 months of their year and half marriage. She will not let us grieve our son and brother, and this is just the being of her torture she has put us through.
ScottGem
Apr 21, 2013, 07:45 PM
She can't keep the entire estate:
Intestacy Law
When a person dies without a will or if his will is invalid, his estate passes according to intestate law, set forth in Tennessee Code Section 31-2-104. A surviving spouse will inherit the decedent's entire estate if there are no children. If the decedent had children, the surviving spouse will inherit one-third of the estate and the children will inherit equal shares of the remainder. If there is only one child, she and the surviving spouse will each inherit half of the estate.
Inheritance Laws in Tennessee | eHow.com (http://www.ehow.com/info_8121408_inheritance-laws-tennessee.html)
Since there are 4 children, they are each entitled to 1/4 of 2/3 of the estate. And the insurance settlement should be part of the estate. If your brother's estate has not been probated, then you need to file in probate court immediately on behalf of the children to have the estate distributed properly.
I also wonder about the settlement. I think as a sibling, you would have been entitled to be listed as a plaintiff in a wrongful death suit. I would consult an TN attorney on this. I think you may have been given bad advice there.
But in any case, she can't exclude his other children from the estate. And I believe the settlement should have gone to the estate.
JudyKayTee
Apr 22, 2013, 11:07 AM
I'm sorry for your loss. I'm sorry that your brother's widow is making your life - and the lives of her children - difficult and painful.
I understand loss, grief, raging, lashing out. I don't understand how a conversation that ends up with "I committed adultery" starts. It sounds like all of you are very busy pushing each other's buttons, getting reactions - good, bad, indifferent reactions. As far as her remarrying, whether she remarries has nothing to do with her relationship with your brother.
Am I sensitive to the issue? Yes. I was widowed, and I remarried. That doesn't mean I loved my husband any less. He is not coming back from the dead whether I remarry or not. My remarriage does not mean I was a bad wife. My remarriage means that I picked my life up again. Give her a break on this front.
If you think it would somehow benefit the child to prove the ID of his father - I think it could destroy the child and his relationship with your family - then consult with an Attorney. I personally don't think you have a legal leg to stand on, but maybe I'm wrong. Why you would "prove parenthood," remove that child from the support of your family, is beyond me. The money is that important?
I think you are speaking out of grief and possible rage - does it matter to you which descendents get how much money?
You need to sit down with an Attorney and go through all of these issues, one by one.
I don't think you can get the advice you need on a Q and A board.
Again, I'm sorry for your loss but I think it's easier to be angry than sad. "She" isn't keeping you from grieving. You need to let it go and then you can grieve - and she's not holding on.
You are.