TN 27 (12-00)

GN 00306.405 Alabama Intestacy Laws

1. A. 

   Child acquires status of child if:

   1. 1. 

      parents intermarry and father recognizes child; or

   2. 2. 

      father makes a declaration in writing attested by two witnesses, setting forth child's name, sex, age, name of mother, and stating that he thereby recognizes child as his, capable of inheriting his real and personal estate, as if born in wedlock. The declaration must be acknowledged before the probate judge of county of residence or proved by attesting witnesses, filed in the office of the probate judge, and recorded on minutes of judge's court; or

   3. 3. 

      (I) effective 06/01/79, before his death, father is adjudged to be the father in a paternity proceeding under Alabama law; or

   4. 4. 

      (I) effective 01/01/83, paternity is established if the natural parents participated in a marriage ceremony before or after the birth of the child, even though the attempted marriage is void, or by an adjudication before the alleged father's death based on a preponderance of the evidence or is established thereafter by clear and convincing proof.

      Effective with claims adjudicated 09/26/86 and later, the provisions for establishing paternity in 4. apply to all cases.

   5. 5. 

      A presumption of paternity, rebuttable only by clear and convincing evidence, arises when:

      1. a. 

         effective 05/07/84, the mother and the putative father are or have been married and the child is born during or within 300 days after the marriage ends; or

      2. b. 

         effective 05/07/84, the mother and the putative father attempted marriage and the child was born within 300 days after the marriage is voided by court or, if the marriage is invalid without a court order, the child was born within 300 days after cohabitation ended; or

      3. c. 

         effective 05/07/84, the mother and the putative father married or attempted marriage after the child's birth and:

         1. (1) 

            the father acknowledged the child in writing and filed the acknowledgment with the appropriate court or office of vital statistics; or

         2. (2) 

            with the father's consent, the father is named on the child's birth certificate; or

         3. (3) 

            the father is obligated to support the child under a written voluntary promise or a court order; or

         4. (4) 

            the father receives the child into his home or otherwise openly holds the child out as his natural child; or

         5. (5) 

            the father and mother execute an affidavit of paternity; or

      4. d. 

         effective 07/01/94, genetic tests indicate a 97% or greater probability of paternity.

   Other evidence of paternity may include evidence of sexual intercourse between the mother and the putative father, expert opinion based on the duration of the mother's pregnancy, expert medical or anthropological evidence, and "all other evidence relevant to the issue of paternity."

2. B. 

   Father acquires status of parent if parents intermarry and father recognizes child or paternity is established through adjudication and father has openly treated the child as his and has not refused to support the child.