Inheritance Rights of Illegitimate Children
"Illegitimate children" refers to those born to parents who are not legally married to each other at the time of the child's birth. These children are also commonly referred to as "non-marital children" or "illegitimate offspring." Historically, such children often had different legal rights and statuses compared to children born to legally married parents. However, many modern legal systems have moved towards granting illegitimate children more equal rights and protections, including inheritance rights and other legal entitlements.
In a recent ruling, the Federal Court of Malaysia determined that an illegitimate child is entitled to inherit from the estate of a deceased parent under the Distribution Act 1958 ("Act"). The Court accepted evidence from the child's mother and paternal grandparents, who had reasonably believed that the marriage was valid at the time it was solemnized, and concluded that the child should be considered legitimate for inheritance purposes.
The Federal Court examined several legal issues, including the definition of ‘issue’ as defined in Section 6 of the Act. The Court interpreted ‘issue’ to include both the children and the descendants of deceased children. Moreover, the Court found that the Act does not limit inheritance rights to only legitimate children in cases of intestacy.
This article is intended for informational purposes only and should not be regarded as legal advice.
非法婚生子女的继承权
“非法婚生子女”是指在父母未合法结婚的情况下出生的孩子。这些孩子也常被称为“非婚生子女”或“非法子女”。历史上，这类子女通常在法律权利和地位上与合法婚生子女有所不同。然而，许多现代法律体系已开始赋予非法婚生子女更多的平等待遇和保护，包括继承权和其他法律权利。
最近，马来西亚联邦法院裁定，根据《1958年分配法令》（“法令”），非法婚生子女有权从已故父母的遗产中继承。法院接受了孩子的母亲和父系祖父母的证词，他们在婚姻仪式时合理地相信婚姻是有效的，并据此认为该孩子在继承权上应被视为合法子女。
联邦法院审查了多个法律问题，其中包括法令第6条对“子嗣”的定义。法院解释说，“子嗣”包括子女及已故子女的后代。此外，法院还指出，法令并未限制继承权仅限于合法子女，即使在无遗嘱的情况下也是如此。
本文仅供参考，不应视为法律建议。
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