Trimble v. Gordon

Supreme Court of the United States · 1977 · Family Law

Family LawEqual ProtectionIntestate SuccessionIllegitimacyEqual Protection Clauseillegitimate childrenintestate successionpaternity

Facts

Deta Mona Trimble was the illegitimate daughter of Sherman Gordon, who lived with her and her mother and openly acknowledged her as his child. Before Gordon died intestate, an Illinois state court entered a paternity order finding him to be Deta Mona's father and requiring him to support her, which he did. When Gordon later died intestate leaving a small estate, Deta Mona sought to inherit as his child. Illinois Probate Act § 12 allowed illegitimate children to inherit by intestate succession only from their mothers, so the Illinois courts excluded her from Gordon's estate.

Issue

Does the Equal Protection Clause permit Illinois to deny illegitimate children the right to inherit by intestate succession from their fathers, while legitimate children may inherit from both parents, when paternity may in some cases be reliably established before death?

Rule

Classifications based on illegitimacy are not subject to strict scrutiny, but the review is not toothless. In the intestate succession context, a statutory distinction must bear an adequate relation to legitimate state interests; difficulties of proving paternity may justify more demanding proof requirements, but they do not justify total disinheritance of illegitimate children when reliable forms of proof, such as prior adjudication or formal acknowledgment of paternity, can protect the State's interests in accurate and efficient estate administration.

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One of 10 multiple-choice questions for this case. Pick an answer to see why.

In Cleveland, Noah Mercer died intestate, leaving a small estate. Years before his death, an Ohio family court had entered a final judgment declaring Noah the father of Lena Ortiz and ordering child support, which he paid until Lena turned 18. Ohio's intestacy statute allows nonmarital children to inherit from their mothers but never from their fathers.

If Lena challenges the statute under the Equal Protection Clause, what is the strongest argument for holding the statute unconstitutional as applied to her?

Explanation. The majority held that illegitimacy classifications receive more than minimal scrutiny, though less than strict scrutiny, and must bear an adequate relation to legitimate state interests. A State may account for proof problems in paternal inheritance, but it may not impose a total bar where paternity has already been reliably established, such as by prior adjudication. The possibility that the father could have made a will is constitutionally insignificant to the equal protection analysis.