Lalli v. Lalli

Summary

The Court affirmed the judgment sustaining New York's requirement that an illegitimate child seeking to inherit from an intestate father establish paternity through a judicial order issued during the father's lifetime. The requirement was held substantially related to the State's important interests in accurate paternity determinations, preventing fraudulent or belated claims, and ensuring the orderly and final administration of estates. Justice Blackmun concurred in the judgment but would have overruled the contrary precedent, while Justice Brennan, joined by three Justices, would have invalidated the statute as insufficiently tailored to those interests.