Estate of Traver

The problem before the court is whether Charles Sommers, who claims to be the illegitimate progeny of the deceased, James Traver, may qualify as the latter’s heir under the provisions of sec. 237.06, Stats.

At common law an illegitimate child had no right of inheritance from his father. Ballentine v. De Sylva (9th Cir. 1955), 226 Fed. (2d) 623, 632, affirmed, 351 U. S. 570, 76 Sup. Ct. 974, 100 L. Ed. 1415. An illegitimate child was thought to be “the son of nobody. Being the son of nobody, he has no ancestor.” Estate of Shriver (1946), 159 Pa. Super. 314, 317, 48 Atl. (2d) 52.

Many states…