Legitimacy (family law)
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| - | '''Illegitimacy''' is the status that was once commonly ascribed to individuals born to [[parent]]s who were not [[marriage|married]]. A corresponding legal term was '''[[bastard]]y'''. The child's status could be changed in either direction by [[Civil law (common law)|civil]] (as in the case of the [[Princes in the Tower]]) or [[canon law]]. In some jurisdictions, marriage of an illegitimate child's parents after its birth resulted in the child's [[legitimation]], the child's legal status then changing to "special bastardy." | + | '''Legitimacy''', in traditional Western [[common law]], is the status of a [[child]] born to parents who are legally [[marriage|married]] to each other, and of a child [[Fertilisation|conceived]] before the parents obtain a legal [[divorce]]. Conversely, ''illegitimacy '' (or ''bastardy'') has been the status of a child born outside marriage, such a child being known as a '''bastard''', '''love child''', or '''illegitimate''' when such a distinction has been made from other children. In [[Scots law]], the terminology of '''natural son''' or '''natural daughter''' has the same implications. The prefix "Fitz-" added to a surname (e.g., [[Fitzroy (disambiguation)|FitzRoy]]) sometimes denoted that the child's parents were not married at the time of birth. |
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| + | Depending on local legislation, legitimacy can affect a child's rights of [[inheritance]] to the [[putative father]]'s [[estate (law)|estate]] and the child's right to bear the father's surname or hereditary title. Illegitimacy has also had consequences for the mother's and child's right to support from the putative father. | ||
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| + | The importance of legitimacy has decreased considerably in Western countries with the increasing economic independence of women, the [[sexual revolution]] of the 1960s and 1970s, the fall of [[totalitarian]] regimes, and declining influence of Christian churches on family life. Births outside marriage represent the majority in many countries in Western Europe and in former European colonies. In many Western-derived cultures, stigma based on parents' marital status, and use of the word "bastard", are now considered offensive. | ||
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| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
| - | * [[Bastard (Law of England and Wales)]] | + | * [[Affiliation (family law)]] |
| - | * [[Defect of Birth]] | + | * [[Anne Orthwood's bastard trial]] |
| - | * ''[[Haram zada]]'' | + | * [[Bastard (Jewish law)]] |
| + | * [[Bastard (law of England and Wales)]] | ||
| + | * [[Colonial American bastardy laws]] | ||
| + | * [[Defect of birth]] | ||
| + | * [[Hague Adoption Convention]] | ||
| * [[Illegitimacy in fiction]] | * [[Illegitimacy in fiction]] | ||
| * [[Legitimacy law in England and Wales]] | * [[Legitimacy law in England and Wales]] | ||
| * [[Marks of distinction]] | * [[Marks of distinction]] | ||
| - | * [[Non-paternity event]] (medical concept) | + | * [[Non-paternity event]] |
| + | * [[Orphan]] | ||
| + | * [[Unintended pregnancy]] | ||
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| {{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} | ||
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Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, illegitimacy (or bastardy) has been the status of a child born outside marriage, such a child being known as a bastard, love child, or illegitimate when such a distinction has been made from other children. In Scots law, the terminology of natural son or natural daughter has the same implications. The prefix "Fitz-" added to a surname (e.g., FitzRoy) sometimes denoted that the child's parents were not married at the time of birth.
Depending on local legislation, legitimacy can affect a child's rights of inheritance to the putative father's estate and the child's right to bear the father's surname or hereditary title. Illegitimacy has also had consequences for the mother's and child's right to support from the putative father.
The importance of legitimacy has decreased considerably in Western countries with the increasing economic independence of women, the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, the fall of totalitarian regimes, and declining influence of Christian churches on family life. Births outside marriage represent the majority in many countries in Western Europe and in former European colonies. In many Western-derived cultures, stigma based on parents' marital status, and use of the word "bastard", are now considered offensive.
See also
- Affiliation (family law)
- Anne Orthwood's bastard trial
- Bastard (Jewish law)
- Bastard (law of England and Wales)
- Colonial American bastardy laws
- Defect of birth
- Hague Adoption Convention
- Illegitimacy in fiction
- Legitimacy law in England and Wales
- Marks of distinction
- Non-paternity event
- Orphan
- Unintended pregnancy
