Illegitimate children given same rights 04/07/2007 00:00

4 July 2007

BRUSSELS – As of 1 July illegitimate children have exactly the same rights to inheritance as legitimate offspring, thanks to the new law on extraction which came into effect last Sunday. The law also gets rid of certain situations discriminatory to men.

An unwed mother can no longer block the biological father from recognising his child, for instance. And the biological father can claim fatherhood of a child conceived with a married woman (that is not his wife).

That was impossible until 1 July. Under the old law the husband of the woman automatically became the child's legal father, without possibility of dispute. It is estimated that 10 percent of children are actually the offspring of biological fathers other than the men they believe to be their fathers.

Illegitimate children have been given more rights as well. They can request their part of a legacy in kind, so that they can inherit not just money, but also furniture, paintings and homes. Legitimate children will not be able to contest this. Illegitimate children will also be given the family name of their biological father at birth.

[Copyright Expatica News 2007]

Subject: Belgian news