Can a child born outside marriage recover for a parent’s wrongful death in Georgia?
Yes. A child whose parents were never married to each other can still recover for that parent’s wrongful death in Georgia. The statute says so directly, removing any doubt that being born outside marriage blocks the claim.
The statute removes birth status as a bar ¶
Georgia’s wrongful death law, O.C.G.A. § 51-4-2, gives a decedent’s children the right to recover the full value of a parent’s life when there is no surviving spouse, and to share in the recovery when there is. The same statute provides that the fact a child was born out of wedlock is no bar to recovery. The legislature added that language to settle the issue, and it places children born outside marriage on the same footing as children born within it for purposes of pursuing a parent’s death.
So the threshold question is not whether the parents were married. It is whether the legal parent-child relationship exists between the claimant and the decedent.
Establishing the parent-child link ¶
Where the connection is obvious, it rarely becomes an issue. A mother’s relationship to her child, for instance, is ordinarily straightforward. The point that draws attention is usually a father who never married the child’s mother. In that situation the child generally needs to show a recognized legal relationship to the deceased father. Georgia provides several ways that link can already exist or be proven:
- A court order of legitimation under Georgia’s family-law statutes.
- A signed, valid acknowledgment of paternity.
- Other proof of paternity that Georgia law accepts to establish the parent-child relationship.
Once the relationship is established, the child stands in the statutory line as a child of the decedent, with the same right to recover the full value of the parent’s life as any other child. If a surviving spouse also exists, the child shares in the recovery under the rule that splits the award between the spouse and the children.
The bottom line ¶
In Georgia a child born to unmarried parents can recover for a parent’s wrongful death; the statute expressly says birth status is no bar. The real focus, especially with a deceased father, is proving the legal parent-child relationship through legitimation, an acknowledgment of paternity, or other accepted proof. Once that relationship is shown, the child holds the same wrongful death rights the law gives any child of the decedent.
This article is for general educational and informational purposes only and is not legal advice. It does not create an attorney-client relationship, and Georgia law may change. For advice about a specific situation, consult a licensed Georgia personal injury attorney.