Rights of an illegitimate child

Rights of an illegitimate child "I have a son but I am not married to his father.I want to know the rights afforded by law to an illegitimate child from his father. Does the law, which allows an illegitimate child to use the surname of his father, elevate his status to that of a legitimate child? MMDear MM, A child born outside a valid marriage between his parents will be considered an illegitimate child. As such, he has certain rights which he can claim from his father provided he is duly recognized by his father as his own illegitimate child. An illegitimate child’s filiation may be proved in the same way as a legitimate child. This may be found in Article 172 of the Family Code of the Philippines:Article172. The filiation of legitimate children is established by any of the following: 1. The record of birth appearing in the civil register or a final judgment or2. An admission of legitimate filiation in a public document or a private handwritten instrument and signed by the parent concerned In the absence of the foregoing evidence, the legitimate filiation shall be proved by:1. The open and continuous possession of the status of a legitimate child or2. Any other means allowed by the Rules of Court and special laws.Once your son is duly recognized by his father, he shall have the right to be supported by his father (Article 195, Family Code of the Philippines), right to inherit from his father through succession (Article 887, Civil Code of the Philippines) and the right to use the surname of his father (Section 1, Republic Act (RA) 9255). RA 9225, the law which allows an illegitimate child to use the surname of his father once he is duly recognized by the latter, does not, in any way operate to elevate his status to that of a legitimate child. His status may be legitimized through legitimation by means of subsequent valid marriage between his parents. However, in case where the illegitimate child cannot be legitimated because there are legal impediments other than the age of minority for his parents to marry at the time of his conception, his status may be legitimized only by means of adoption. Both the legitimated and legally adopted child will have the same rights and obligations as that of a legitimate child.Finally, we wish to remind you that this opinion is solely based on your narration of facts and our appreciation of the same. The opinion may vary if other facts are added or elaborated.We hope that we were able to address your concern.Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to dearpao@manilatimes.net or via text message (key in: Times dearpao and send to 2299)." - https://www.affordablecebu.com/