State v. Bowen

An unmarried mother entered in an agreement whereby she waived and renounced any claim for child support which she might have had against the man alleged to be the father of the child, the consideration for which was the payment of the lump sum of $2,100. We are asked to decide whether that agreement can be set up as a complete defense to a later filiation proceeding.

The filiation statute, RCW 26.24, provides a procedure whereby an unmarried woman may complain to a justice of the peace, accusing under oath “a person with being the father of [her] child.” (RCW 26.24.010.) It provides that the…