witnesses
What is the legal meaning of &quot;related to&quot;?
<p>I'm filling out a paternity affidavit right now. The instructions say,</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The parents of this child or anyone related to the parents cannot be witnesses to any of these affidavits.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>This cannot be interpreted literally, as all human beings are distantly related to each other. Surely in order to claim paternity of my child I do not have to rustle up two extraterrestrials (or an extraterrestrial notary public). Even if it is taken to mean "provably related to," that seems problematic. Birth records go back a long way, and I've certainly met people and only later coincidentally learned that they were my fifth or sixth cousin; it would be unreasonable if I used a notary who happened to be my fifth cousin and that fact could later be used to invalidate my paternity.</p>

<p>How closely-related to me or my partner does someone have to be in order to be considered "related to" us for this sort of purpose? (I'm in the United States — Missouri, to be precise.)</p>

<p>My interpretation would be:</p>

<p><em>As related to the parents...</em></p>

<ul>
<li>Immediate family (e.g., brothers, sisters, etc.)</li>
<li>First and second cousins, aunts and uncles</li>
<li>Any direct ancestors (i.e., parents, grand-parents, great-grandparents, etc.)</li>
<li>Any direct decendants (i.e., children, grandchildren, etc.)</li>
<li>Any extended family members who have a close emotional relationship or frequent day-to-day interactions.</li>
</ul>

<p>Unfortunately, the vagueness of the requirement leaves the interpretation subjective — as you have noted. The interpretation of this requirement might be the <strong><em>reasonable person</em></strong> standard — i.e., what a reasonable person would consider <strong><em>related to</em></strong> to mean. However, IMHO, any future challenge would have a higher likelihood of success if any of the above family members were used as witnesses.</p>

<p>Disclaimer: I am not an attorney. So don't follow my advice. Hire a real attorney if you need one.</p>
