468 SO2D 126 - Abrams v. Wheeler

How this case has been cited

Cited by 9 later decisions — most recently April 2013

9 state decisions

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

¶1

¶2In Everage v. Gibson, 372 So.2d 829 (Ala. 1979), this Court said:

¶3 "We hold that the adjudication of paternity in a proceeding under § 26-12-1 et seq. is sufficient state expression by which to obtain the legitimation of an illegitimate child in order that it may inherit from the intestate father's estate in the same manner as a legitimate child."

¶4On May 4, 1977, Cohill was judicially determined in a proceeding under § 26-12-1, et seq., to be the father of Della Rena Abrams. Under Everage, that determination was sufficient to establish the right of Della Rena Abrams to inherit from her intestate father's estate.¹ The question whether the paternity proceeding was barred by the statute of limitations should have been raised in that proceeding and not by a collateral attack in this proceeding to determine heirs.

¶5

¹ In Code 1975, § 43-8-48, enacted after this case arose, the legislature addressed the issue presented in this case, reaching the same result as the holding in this case. See also the commentary to § 43-8-48.