Legal Definitions - legitimacy

Definition: Legitimacy refers to the lawfulness of something or the status of a person who is born within a lawful marriage or who acquires that status by later action of the parents. It is the legal kinship between a child and its parent or parents. Legitimacy is the opposite of illegitimacy.

Example: In the past, many rules regarding child support were based on the legitimacy of the child. Legitimate children were entitled to full support, while illegitimate children had limited legal consequences. Although the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that distinctions between legitimate and illegitimate children should no longer be made, many state statutes have not yet been adapted to this view.

Explanation: This example illustrates how legitimacy can affect the entitlements of children, particularly in the context of child support. Legitimacy used to be a precondition for full support entitlement, but this distinction is now considered unconstitutional. However, some state statutes still make distinctions based on legitimacy, which can have legal consequences for children born out of wedlock.