Affiliation Proceeding Law and Legal Definition
Affiliation proceeding is a court proceeding to determine whether the defendant is the father of an illegitimate child. Affiliation proceedings are generally held to be civil in their nature and not criminal. If the defendant is in reality the father of the child, for whose benefit the proceedings are provided, the latter is entitled to have its father contribute such a sum as is commensurate with his ability to pay. In an affiliation proceeding, on the ground of decency and morality and as a matter of public policy, a husband and wife should not be permitted to testify to nonaccess. Affiliation proceedings were formerly referred to as bastardy actions or paternity or filiation proceedings.
