Q: i am interested in learning if I have a right to make a claim to my fathers estate.
My father passed away October 29. He was never married to my mother and his name is not on my birth certificate. He did not tell me he was my father until I was in my 20's. We did not have any kind of relationship. He never provided for me in any way while I was growing up (on and off welfare). I never asked him for anything and he never offered anything. He was always on the 'outskirts' of my life, he knew where i was, he would occasionally make contact (ie; wishing me happy birthday thru facebook messenger). He was a man of means, a mayor, lived comfortably, his children with his wife live comfortably.
A: The Florida Probate Code states that you would need to have some proof that you were his child. This could be in the form of a written statement by him acknowledging that he is your father or an adjudication of paternity by a court (either in a paternity case or in a child support case). One of these two items would be required if his name is not on your birth certificate.
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