bastardy proceeding
Noun: A legal action initiated in a court of law to establish the biological father of a child born to unmarried parents. The primary purpose of this proceeding is to legally determine paternity, which then creates the basis for imposing obligations such as child support on the identified father.
This term is a specific legal term of art. It is used formally within judicial and legal contexts to describe the type of case being heard. - The court scheduled the bastardy proceeding for next month. - The mother initiated a bastardy proceeding to secure financial support for her child.
- The term is considered archaic and potentially offensive in modern everyday language due to its association with the stigmatizing historical term "bastard" for a child born out of wedlock. In contemporary legal systems, this type of case is more commonly and neutrally referred to as a "paternity suit" or "paternity proceeding."
- It may appear in historical legal texts or in the formal names of older statutes.
- Paternity suit/proceeding (n): The modern, standard term for a legal action to establish fatherhood.
- Filiation proceeding (n): Another legal term, often used in civil law jurisdictions, for a case to establish a parent-child relationship.
- Paternity action
- Paternity case
This term refers specifically to the legal process itself, not to the result or the status of the child. The focus of the proceeding is on the adjudication of biological paternity and the associated legal responsibilities.
- a lawsuit filed to determine the father of a child born out of wedlock (and to provide for the support of the child once paternity is determined)