Unit 12 Family Law



A

Legitimation

            A (8)..................born (1)................ becomes legitimate if his parents
subsequently (7) .................. By the Legitimacy Act, 1926, an illegitimate person is
legitimated by the (2) .................. of his parents provided that at  the date of the marriage
(i) the illegitimate person is alive and (ii) the (9) ........................ is domiciled in
England and Wales.

            The Legitimacy Act, 1959, further (6) ................... that it shall be no bar to
legitimation that either of the parents was married to a third party at the time of the birth of
the (3) ................. For example, A and B are married. B conceives a child by Z. A then
divorces B, who thereupon marries Z. The child will be legitimated from the date of the subsequent
marriage of B and Z.

            The (5) .................. effect is that the (10) ........................ child is
treated in nearly all respects as though he were legitimate or a lawful child. Should the parents
die intestate, the legitimated child will succeed to their property. Moreover, he will have the
same rights of (4) ..................... by parents as a lawful child.





B


Illegitimacy

            A (8) ...................  born during wedlock is prima facie legitimate. Similarly a
child born within the normal time after the termination of a (2) .................... by the death
of the husband or by divorce is presumed legitimate.

            A child will only be (1) ......................... when the mother does not marry the
father. If the mother does, however, (7) ..................... the father following the birth of
the child, the child may be (10) .......................... .

            If the mother marries some other person, the mother and the husband may in such a case
jointly adopt the mother´s illegitimate child, although her husband will be bound to maintain the
(3) ................... and can claim custody as a child of the family.

            Custody and (4)....................... . An illegitimate child is in the custody of his
mother and the mother is bound to maintain him until the age of 16. The putative father, as he is
generally called, is under no (5) .................... obligation to (6) ................... for
the child except when the affiliation order has been made against him by a magistrates´ court. If
so ordered, the putative (9) .................. is liable to maintain the child until the age of
16, although it may be extended beyond 16 if the child needs further education or training.