Background
Joseph Gaigg died intestate in 2022. His niece, Sharon Peterson, sought informal administration of his estate and asserted that he had no children. Dorothy Becher objected, claiming she was Gaigg’s only surviving child and seeking a paternity determination within the probate case.
Becher was born while her mother was married to Gordon Becher, creating statutory presumptions that Gordon was her father. She submitted posthumous DNA testing from a hair sample showing a 99.99% probability that Gaigg was her biological father. The circuit court adjudicated Gaigg her father, found Becher to be his sole heir, and appointed her personal representative.
The Court’s Holding
The court of appeals affirmed. The DNA results satisfied the statutory standard for rebutting the presumptions that Gordon Becher was Dorothy’s father: they showed that Gaigg was not excluded as her father and established a probability of paternity exceeding 99%.
The court also held that Becher could seek the paternity determination after Gaigg’s death through a motion in the probate proceeding. Wisconsin’s 19-year limitations period bars paternity actions, not a probate motion relevant to determining heirs. Becher’s potential ability to inherit from Gordon did not alter the result; Gordon’s will had left his estate entirely to Dorothy’s mother.
Key Takeaways
- Genetic testing showing at least a 99% probability of paternity can rebut marital presumptions of paternity under Wisconsin law.
- A paternity determination may be sought by motion in a probate proceeding when needed to establish intestate heirs after the alleged father’s death.
- The limitations period for paternity actions does not bar that narrow probate motion.
Why It Matters
The decision confirms that modern statutory provisions governing genetic testing and survival of paternity claims supersede older cases requiring paternity proceedings during the putative father’s lifetime. Probate practitioners can use a paternity motion to resolve heirship when genetic evidence establishes the claimed parent-child relationship.