In both of these cases proof of live birth, as before mentioned, is of the slenderest kind.
A fœtus in the womb (en ventre sa mère) may—(a) Have a legacy or estate made over to it. (b) A guardian assigned to it. That these conditions may take effect, it must be born alive. (c) Be an executor. To exercise this post partum function, the child must in England have attained the age of twenty-one.
LEGITIMACY
Every child born in wedlock is presumed to have the husband of the woman as its father; but this presumption may be denied for the following reasons:
1. Absence or death of the reputed father.
2. Impotence or disease in the reputed father, preventing matrimonial intercourse.
3. In the case of a premature delivery in a newly-married woman.
4. Want of access.
5. The paternity of the child may be disputed when the woman marries immediately after the death of her husband.
In Scotland, a child is held to be legitimate if born ten lunar months after the death or absence of its alleged father; and the absence of the supposed father must continue till within six lunar months of the birth of the child, to prove its illegitimacy.