Forced Heir rights?

[AndrewF]

Jurisdiction

Louisiana

I found out within the last year that the man who is almost definitely my father (I didnt know about him before) died when I was 11, over 10 years ago. I attempted to make contact with his surviving son for a DNA test, but he refused. Do I have any legal right to get a court ordered DNA test or something along those lines, seeing as if I'm his brother I'm owed inheritance? He was very suspicious in our messages while making blatant lies to say we can't be related, and I feel it may be because he doesn't want to hand anything over.

 

[justblue]

I found out within the last year that the man who is almost definitely my father (I didnt know about him before) died when I was 11, over 10 years ago. I attempted to make contact with his surviving son for a DNA test, but he refused. Do I have any legal right to get a court ordered DNA test or something along those lines, seeing as if I'm his brother I'm owed inheritance? He was very suspicious in our messages while making blatant lies to say we can't be related, and I feel it may be because he doesn't want to hand anything over.

It is unlikely that you can force an alleged sibling to submit to a DNA test. Your mother could have filed to establish paternity when you were born up until the alleged father passed away, but for whatever reason, she apparently did not.

You could/should consult with a local family law attorney about your situation.

Louisiana State Bar Association

Check your thread later/tomorrow as I'm sure one of the attorney volunteers here may post to your thread.

 

[AndrewF]

Unfortunately my mother committed suìcide when I was 2 years old presumably over the situation with my assumed father being a married man and being pretty influential in the area. I'll check back later, thank you.

 

[flyingron]

The time is long past to raise paternity issues. You will not be able to force them to do anything of that nature.

 

[Disabled Vet]

So you're not interested in the family part of life. You are just wanting any "Freebie" stuff you could get. Interesting, that someone would want anything from someone that left them behind in life. Good luck with that...

 

[zddoodah]

I attempted to make contact with his surviving son for a DNA test, but he refused. Do I have any legal right to get a court ordered DNA test or something along those lines

Absolutely not.

seeing as if I'm his brother I'm owed inheritance?

Why do you think that?

While it is true that Louisiana has a "forced inheritance" law (and, for the moment, I'll assume the man in question lived in Louisiana at the time of his death), do you have any reason to believe the estate of this man who died a decade ago is still open? Did your legal guardian make a claim on your behalf with the executor of the estate? Who do you suppose might owe you this inheritance?

He was very suspicious in our messages while making blatant lies to say we can't be related, and I feel it may be because he doesn't want to hand anything over.

Do you have any reason to believe that he actually received anything from his father's estate?

Unfortunately my mother committed suìcide when I was 2 years old presumably over the situation with my assumed father being a married man and being pretty influential in the area.

That is, indeed, unfortunate. However, "justblue's" point remains: Your mother could have filed to establish paternity when you were born, and your legal guardian could have done the same up until the alleged father died.

You could/should consult with a local family law attorney about your situation.

Consulting with a family law attorney would not be particularly productive. The specialty that is relevant here is probate law.

 

[AndrewF]

So you're not interested in the family part of life. You are just wanting any "Freebie" stuff you could get. Interesting, that someone would want anything from someone that left them behind in life. Good luck with that...

I waited almost a year to contact him out of anxiety, it wasn't about money at all. He completely blew me off and acted so odd the we researched and found out I fell under forced heir law when the father died, and that was the only conclusion we could draw to him lying about his fathers death date, then backtracking and trying to say he had a vasectomy instead. Why would I be interested in "family" that drove my mother to suicide, then made excuses when I finally found out their existence and tried to make contact?

Anything I could possibly be entitled to has been earned from a life without my biological parents, and would be a tiny bit of justice from a man that knew about my existence and never reached out. I had to find out about him from one of his old friend's sons, who told him he knew my entire life who my father was.

 

[AndrewF]

Absolutely not.



Why do you think that?

While it is true that Louisiana has a "forced inheritance" law (and, for the moment, I'll assume the man in question lived in Louisiana at the time of his death), do you have any reason to believe the estate of this man who died a decade ago is still open? Did your legal guardian make a claim on your behalf with the executor of the estate? Who do you suppose might owe you this inheritance?



Do you have any reason to believe that he actually received anything from his father's estate?



That is, indeed, unfortunate. However, "justblue's" point remains: Your mother could have filed to establish paternity when you were born, and your legal guardian could have done the same up until the alleged father died.



Consulting with a family law attorney would not be particularly productive. The specialty that is relevant here is probate law.

Louisiana law says that since I was 11 when he died, I was entitled to a part of his estate. Seeing as knowledge of my fathers identity was only gotten when I was 22 and he was long dead, no claim could've been made by my adoptive mother when he was alive.

 

[Zigner]

Louisiana law says that since I was 11 when he died, I was entitled to a part of his estate. Seeing as knowledge of my fathers identity was only gotten when I was 22 and he was long dead, no claim could've been made by my adoptive mother when he was alive.

That's not exactly true. You are NOT the man's child at this point and you have no proof that you are. As such, you can't say that you are entitled to any of his estate.

I suggest that you speak to a Louisiana probate attorney. To my knowledge, there are no Louisiana attorneys, or even anyone familiar with the vagaries of Louisiana law on this site, so this site is only going to be of very limited usefulness to you, as you have seen.

 

[Zigner]

He was very suspicious in our messages while making blatant lies to say we can't be related, and I feel it may be because he doesn't want to hand anything over.

It's not a "blatant lie" to say you can't be related...it is merely a belief that may be, or may not be, correct.

Also, from the guy's viewpoint, wouldn't you be suspicious of a random person coming out of the woodwork and, apparently, asking for 25% of his father's estate?

 

[Zigner]

Anything I could possibly be entitled to has been earned from a life without my biological parents, and would be a tiny bit of justice from a man that knew about my existence and never reached out.

Frankly, your mother is just as much to blame.

 

[zddoodah]

it wasn't about money at all.

An inheritance is about NOTHING BUT money (or other items of value).

He completely blew me off and acted so odd

I'd act odd too if someone I'd never heard of contacted me out of the blue a decade after the death of a parent claiming to be a half-sibling.

a tiny bit of justice from a man that knew about my existence and never reached out.

Even if this man was your father, he had no LEGAL obligation to you. If your mother or legal guardian had established paternity and obtained a support order, then he'd have had a legal obligation to your mother or guardian.

I had to find out about him from one of his old friend's sons, who told him he knew my entire life who my father was.

Seems like that's the guy at whom you ought to be mad.

Louisiana law says that since I was 11 when he died, I was entitled to a part of his estate. Seeing as knowledge of my fathers identity was only gotten when I was 22 and he was long dead, no claim could've been made by my adoptive mother when he was alive.

I mentioned in my prior response that I'm aware of Louisiana's forced inheritance law. Here are the two problems you have: First, it's not at all clear what evidence you have that this man is your father. In your original post, you wrote that this man "is almost definitely [your] father," but you provided no information (either in your original post or in any of the three follow up posts) about why you believe that. If your mother were still alive, she'd be a big help. However, unless there are people who personally witnessed your mother and this man having sex approximately 40 weeks before you were born, you would have a ridiculously hard time meeting any burden of proof. Think about that. You're asking a complete stranger to undergo a DNA test...BASED ON WHAT? Your belief that this stranger's father is "almost definitely [your] father"?

Second, if this man's estate was properly administered, then it's almost certainly over. We've all recommended that you consult with a local attorney, but I'd wager that there's no chance of getting a properly administered estate reopened. Of course, if the estate wasn't properly administered, then that may be a different story, but you'd still have to overcome the evidence issue.

 

[justblue]

Absolutely not.



Why do you think that?

While it is true that Louisiana has a "forced inheritance" law (and, for the moment, I'll assume the man in question lived in Louisiana at the time of his death), do you have any reason to believe the estate of this man who died a decade ago is still open? Did your legal guardian make a claim on your behalf with the executor of the estate? Who do you suppose might owe you this inheritance?



Do you have any reason to believe that he actually received anything from his father's estate?



That is, indeed, unfortunate. However, "justblue's" point remains: Your mother could have filed to establish paternity when you were born, and your legal guardian could have done the same up until the alleged father died.



Consulting with a family law attorney would not be particularly productive. The specialty that is relevant here is probate law.

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