Article Proposes A Framework for Determining Parentage

Lee-ford Tritt (associate professor of law, University of Florida) has recently published his article entitled Sperms and Estates: An Unadulterated Functionally Based Approach to Parent-Child Property Succession, 62 SMU L. Rev. 367 (2009).

The following is an excerpt from the introduction to the article:

Therefore, this Article proposes a new model of analyzing legal issues arising from the evolving notions of parentage in America and uses it to develop rules to govern the definition of parentage for succession law purposes while preserving testamentary freedom. To bring estates law back into step with modern family realities, this Article posits that an unadulterated functionally based approach should replace both the sanguinary nexus analytical framework and the recently adopted 2008 UPC Amendments approach. This unadulterated functionally based approach would be the only framework to determine a parent-child relationship–there would be no need for multiple frameworks–one for children born from sexual conception, one for children born of technological conception, and one for adopted children. Because succession laws look to familial relations only as an approximation of testamentary intent, the proposed framework in this Article focuses on the rights and best interests of the decedent only; in so doing, it often departs from analysis in other parent-child influenced case law where the focus–appropriately enough for other areas of family law, but not for estates law’s approximation of testamentary intent– has primarily been on the rights and best interests of the child.

To accomplish this goal, this Article uses parental support cases as a springboard for criticism of the current approach. As mentioned earlier, in cases where a family court deems a parent to have support obligations, the relationship between the obligated parent and child will also be deemed to qualify the child under the sanguinary nexus test for inheritance rights if the obligated parent died intestate. Surveying a variety of parental support cases involving novel family situations, this Article deploys a normative and pragmatic critique of estates law’s reliance upon family law principles to determine relevant family relationships. From a normative standpoint, a close examination of parental support cases reveals how reliance upon family law principles undermines the integrity of testamentary freedom. Paradoxically, that potential attack on testamentary freedom has rather serious deleterious implications for effective family planning in modern society. From a pragmatic standpoint, the work demonstrates the growing impracticability of attending adequately to inheritance rights that arise from continued reliance on family law principles. This Article then articulates and defends an unadulterated functional approach to defining a parent-child relationship that would completely break genetic links (and legal parental determinations) for inheritance purposes. This Article concludes that paying greater fidelity to a wholly functionally based framework, rather than reliance upon blood relationships or family law jurisprudence, would help rehabilitate the core value of testamentary freedom in estates law.

To describe fully the unadulterated functionally based approach to defining the parent-child relationship for inheritance purposes, this Article will address the philosophical foundations of estates law and family law, as well as the doctrinal developments in each that have given rise to the current conflict. Accordingly, Part II, “Foundation Underpinnings of Pertinent Legal Disciplines,” introduces the doctrine of testamentary freedom for estates law purposes and explores the jurisprudence of family law in general. Part III, “Current State of Relevant Property Succession Law,” examines the various succession laws impacted by the debate concerning the definition of a parent-child relationship. Part IV, “Parent Making: The Processes and Problems,” describes the various technological advances in child creation and genetic testing that are influencing the notion of family structures, while highlighting the inadequacies of the sanguinary nexus test. Part V, “Case Analyses,” uses parental support cases for evaluating the desirability of family law’s potential influence on inheritance law. Part VI, “Defining the Parent-Child Status,” reviews various frameworks for defining the parent-child relationship, including the 2008 UPC Amendments, and proposes and explores the unadulterated functionally based approach as the sole framework to solve the various issues arising for the changing structures of the American family. Part VII, “Potential Criticisms of Unadulterated Functionally Based Approach,” evaluates the potential shortfalls of the unadulterated functionally based approach to defining the parent-child relationship for inheritance purposes. Finally, Part VIII reiterates the need to amend succession law to encapsulate more fully the evolving notion of parent-child relationships and advocates the adoption of the unadulterated functionally based approach to alleviate the concerns raised by the current reliance of the sanguinary nexus test.