Session Laws

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 1 of chapter 46 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 1984 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 7, the words "an illegitimate child" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- a child born out of wedlock.

SECTION 2. Section 2A of said chapter 46, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the first sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- Examination of records and returns of children born out of wedlock or abnormal sex births, or fetal deaths, or of the notices of intention of marriage and marriage records in cases where a physician's certificate has been filed under the provisions of section twenty A of chapter two hundred and seven, or those of persons born out of wedlock, or of copies of such records in the department of public health, shall not be permitted except upon proper judicial order, or upon request of a person seeking his own birth or marriage record, or his attorney, parent, guardian, or conservator, or a person whose official duties, in the opinion of the town clerk or the commissioner of public health, as the case may be, entitle him to the information contained therein, nor shall certified copies thereof be furnished except upon such order, or the request of such person.

SECTION 3. Section 13 of said chapter 46, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 162, the words "an illegitimate child" and inserting in place thereof the words:- a child born out of wedlock.

SECTION 4. Section 24 of said chapter 46, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the first sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- In any statement of births or deaths printed by a town the name of a child born out of wedlock or of its parents shall not be printed, but the words "child born out of wedlock" shall be used in place thereof.

SECTION 5. Chapter 190 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 5, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 5. A person born out of wedlock is heir of his mother and of any person from whom his mother might have inherited, if living, and the descendents of a person born out of wedlock shall represent such person and take, by descent, any estate which such person would have taken, if living.

SECTION 6. Said chapter 190 is hereby further amended by striking out section 6, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 6. If a person born out of wedlock dies intestate, such estate shall pass in accordance with the law of intestate succession except that the father and his kindred shall not be considered as relatives of the child born out of wedlock unless the child might have inherited from the father as provided in section seven.

SECTION 7. Said chapter 190 is hereby further amended by striking out section 7, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 7. A person born out of wedlock whose parents have intermarried and whose father has acknowledged him as his child or has been adjudged his father under chapter two hundred and seventy-three shall be deemed legitimate and shall be entitled to take the name of his parents to the same extent as if born in lawful wedlock. If a decedent has acknowledged paternity of a person born out of wedlock or if during his lifetime or after his death a decedent has been adjudged to be the father of a person born out of wedlock that person is heir of his father and of any person from whom his father might have inherited, if living, and the descendents of a person born out of wedlock shall represent that person and take by descent any estate which such person would have taken, if living. A person may establish paternity if, within the period provided under section nine of chapter one hundred and ninety-seven for bringing actions against executors and administrators, such person either (a) delivers to the executor or administrator an authenticated copy of a judgment rendered by a court of competent jurisdiction during a decedent's lifetime adjudging the decedent to be the father of a person born out of wedlock, or (b) commences, in a court of competent jurisdiction, an action in which the executor or administrator is a named party and in which such paternity is ultimately proved.

SECTION 8. Chapter 207 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 15, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 15. The issue of a marriage declared void by reason of consanguinity or affinity between the parties shall be a person born out of wedlock.

SECTION 9. Section 6A of chapter 210 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 10, the words "is of illegitimate birth" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- has been born out of wedlock.

SECTION 10. Section 1 of chapter 258A of the General Laws, as amended by section 1 of chapter 605 of the acts of 1985, is hereby further amended by striking out the definition of "Dependent" and inserting in place thereof the following definition:-

"Dependent", mother, father, spouse, spouse's mother, spouse's father, child, grandchild, adopted child, child born out of wedlock, brother, sister, niece or nephew, who is wholly or partially dependent for support upon and living with the victim at the time of his injury or death due to a crime alleged in a claim pursuant to this chapter.

SECTION 11. Section 34 of chapter 262 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 1984 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 12 and 13, the words "an illegitimate child" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- a child born out of wedlock.

SECTION 12. Section 22 of chapter 272 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 2, the word "illegitimate" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- a child born out of wedlock.

SECTION 13. Section 23 of said chapter 272, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 1 and 2, the words "illegitimate child" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- child born out of wedlock.

SECTION 14. Section 12 of chapter 273 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 4, the words "illegitimate child" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- child born out of wedlock.

SECTION 15. Section 15 of said chapter 273, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 1, the words "an illegitimate child" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- a child born out of wedlock.

SECTION 16. Section 16A of chapter 278 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 6, the words "an illegitimate child" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- a child born out of wedlock.