Case Law Update: Parentage

Posthumous DNA testing is sufficient to establish paternity.

In Estate of Dicksion,No. 107295, 2011 WL 5555571 (Okla. Nov. 15, 2011), the Oklahoma Supreme Court held that paternity of a non-marital child may be proved by DNA testing carried out after the alleged father’s death. The court overruled two earlier cases which held that a paternity proceeding had to be completed before the alleged father’s death. The court also held the statute dealing with the parentage of non-marital children applies to both intestate and testate proceedings.

Special thanks to William P. LaPiana (Rita and Joseph Solomon Professor of Wills, Trusts,and Estates, New York Law School) for bringing this case law update to my attention.