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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWilliam Shatner hit with $170 million paternity suit
CNN:Peter Sloan, who now goes by the name Peter Shatner, says the actor had an affair with his birth mother, Katherine Burt (later Kathy McNeil), in 1956.
Shatner denies that Sloan is his son.
Sloan, 59, was given up for adoption shortly after his birth. In 1984, he started seeking his birth parents and identified the people he believed to be his mother and father.
Um, 1956?
trumad
(41,692 posts)Good luck with that.
brooklynite
(93,842 posts)Initech
(99,909 posts)But $170 million? Holy shit!
Iliyah
(25,111 posts)jberryhill
(62,444 posts)Major Nikon
(36,814 posts)jberryhill
(62,444 posts)State laws vary on sperm donors and whether they will be recognized as parents.
Adoption laws are very, very clear on this point.
Major Nikon
(36,814 posts)Although paternity is probably a relevant issue, it isn't why Shatner is being sued.
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)....with your "facts" and so on.
I'll bet you're the kind of person who reads instructions before assembling stuff.
Major Nikon
(36,814 posts)I once hired a witch doctor to put a curse on my local IKEA store.
Gidney N Cloyd
(19,780 posts)Prism
(5,815 posts)And I know you're an attorney.
I'm adopted, and my birth parents and grandparents turned out to have quite a bit of money. First, it would never cross my mind to bother about that. But second, I thought adoptions pretty much seal that door, so to speak. Once you're adopted, legally, you're not connected to them anymore.
At least, that's my understanding.
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)Democat
(11,617 posts)Doesn't make sense.
NV Whino
(20,886 posts)jberryhill
(62,444 posts)NV Whino
(20,886 posts)brush
(53,467 posts)NobodyHere
(2,810 posts)...has finally come back to haunt him.
bdwker
(435 posts)ProfessorGAC
(64,413 posts)I know he's made a pretty great living, but does he have that much? Or, is this just someone suing for everything he does have?
TexasBushwhacker
(20,043 posts)But that still doesn't mean this "son" is entitled to anything.
ProfessorGAC
(64,413 posts)I was raised by my parents telling me that when i grew up i was responsible for taking care of me. They weren't rich and weren't going to live poor just so they could leave a bunch of money to my sister and i. Their money, and they were going to use it.
After my mom died (9 years after my dad) my sister and i got the money from the sale of their ranch home, minus commissions and legal fees.
Wasn't going to be living in Beverly Hills off that!
So, i'm with you. It's not the kids money and even IF he is genetically proven to be an offspring, he's not entitled to any of it, except through probate. Since Shatner's not dead yet, that point is moot.
TexasBushwhacker
(20,043 posts)Unless Shatner died without a will. Bill can leave everything to his wife if he wants. She is the only person who can't be disinherited.
In any case, he doesn't look much like him.
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ProfessorGAC
(64,413 posts)Or deluding himself.
And, of course, you're correct. I agree that kids are only "entitled" to money if there is no will.
TexasBushwhacker
(20,043 posts)Peter Sloan (aka Peter Shatner) has published his story on his website: petershatner.com . It seems to me that he is defaming Bill by saying he acknowledged, and then denied, paternity.
joeybee12
(56,177 posts)Glassunion
(10,201 posts)smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)It wouldn't surprise me.
NanceGreggs
(27,813 posts)Maybe he should have tried that celeb first.
3catwoman3
(23,812 posts)...Nicholson.
me b zola
(19,053 posts)...and quite frankly, seeking relationships for money makes that a better bet than Shatner.
NanceGreggs
(27,813 posts)Maybe this guy should have checked with us - we could have advised him on which celebrity was the better candidate.
louis-t
(23,199 posts)That's about it.
MowCowWhoHow III
(2,103 posts)Ghost in the Machine
(14,912 posts)Don't worry, he has mad cow disease, and Alan Shore will get him out of it... afterall, they're flamingos!
Peace,
Ghost
gollygee
(22,336 posts)jberryhill
(62,444 posts)Orrex
(63,084 posts)ProfessorGAC
(64,413 posts)Says the son when he finds out that Kirk reprogrammed the Kobayashi Maru. Then it turns out, not so fast sonny boy
Dr. Strange
(25,898 posts)Although, if you go by the book, years might seem like days.
Takket
(21,421 posts)Dr. Strange
(25,898 posts)yuiyoshida
(41,759 posts)underpants
(182,271 posts)dchill
(38,315 posts)Just sayin'
Major Nikon
(36,814 posts)dchill
(38,315 posts)Glassunion
(10,201 posts)whistler162
(11,155 posts)Tommy_Carcetti
(43,079 posts)And is this the kid?
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edbermac
(15,919 posts)Oh yeah he fired a few photon torpedoes in his day.
me b zola
(19,053 posts)Although in our ranks I have spoken with other people who have famous fathers, and their journey is a little different from the rest of ours, but none of them, to my knowledge are seeking money.
I think that in western culture when there has been injustice done with no way to ever make right, paternity issues aside, it is not uncommon to try to "fix" the unfixable with money. Nicole Brown Simpson's family successfully sued for wrongful death of their loved one. It cannot bring Nicole back to life but it was important for them to hold OJ responsible by the only means possible.
Still, this aids those who would negatively stereotype adoptees seeking their birth documents and the truths in the story of their lives. The adoptee rights movement is about adoptees having the same right to our birth records as the non adopted. The only thing that we seek is to gain information about ourselves.
Prism
(5,815 posts)I'm adopted and know my biological family. They have no legal connection to me or responsibility. It's my understanding that, even if they all died tomorrow, I'm not legally next of kin. My adoptive parents are my legal parents.
So I totally don't get how this guy's lawsuit even works. No matter how he was conceived, he's only legally entitled to his legal parents, yeah?
Ooft. What a shitty person. It would never ever cross my mind to go after my biological family for any reason. They made a tough decision, I'm grateful for that, and I had a decent upbringing. As far as I'm concerned, "Thanks for giving me life," is about the only appropriate sentiment towards them.
me b zola
(19,053 posts)I found my bio father first and asked him to share info that would lead me to my mother. His first fear was that I had some kind of legal claim, such as back child support. I had to continuously reassure him that a) I had no legal claim as his child as I was legally adopted as a child, and b) even if I did have such a legal right (which I do not) I was not interested in anything other than information about me.
I remember in the last season of Dexter I was very anxious thinking that they had duped me into a story line that was going to be about reinforcing negative stereotypes about adoptees when they brought in Masuka's daughter that had been relinquished (without his knowledge). People had put in his head that she only showed up because she wanted material things from him, and because of that he at first reacted horribly by doing a background check on her. I was very happy though when the story line played out that she just wanted to know him. It was joy to me to see how they handled the familial idiosyncrasies, their weirdness that made sense when you saw them together. This really touched home for me as I always thought that I was weird, but once I found my mother I understood that I was not weird at all, I was just Nancy's daughter, lol.
Prism
(5,815 posts)I'm really not like my adoptive family at all. Not only appearance wise (I'm taller, with brown hair and brown eyes in a family of shorties who are blonde/blue). But personality was the big thing! I'm quiet and introspective, while my adoptive family is loud and out-spoken. But then I met my biological parents, and I was all, "Ohhhhh. That's why I am this way." I'm a carbon copy of them in both looks and personality. And even interests. A lot of my hobbies are shared by my biological mom. My bio parents are actually married, so I have full siblings. My younger bio brother is more or less my twin in appearance and even voice. My bio mom can't tell us apart on the phone.
But, I like that, the opportunity to just know. That's all I wanted. It's like being able to say, "Ah, so this is how I descended into the universe. I get that now." And it made me appreciate the hell out of my adoptive parents even more. They took in this stranger who looked nothing like them and had a personality they didn't understand. But they loved me and raised me and took care of me anyway. Sometimes I must've seemed like an alien child, but they did their best, and I love them for it.
=)
me b zola
(19,053 posts)Its the most basic thing, something that the non-adopted take for granted. We are not "blank slates" when we are adopted, we descended from generations of people who are imprinted on our DNA. Not just the good, but the bad as well. To understand who we are we need to know where we came from.
For me there could not be a closer match in my adoptive parents to my biological families. Still, I was like a fish out of water. I always loved them (my adoptive parents), but I was out of sorts being without a link or information to/about my origins. I could not have been more gobsmacked when I met and got to know my mother, all of the idiosyncrasies that we shared. Mind blowing. A good friend of mine (who is also adopted) was not able to contact us for a couple of days so he called my moms house to see if we were ok. He was blown away by just how similar my mother and I are, it was all he could talk about for weeks, lol.
Cheers to you, cheers to the knowing. And here's for open records that others can know as well.
Victor_c3
(3,557 posts)I don't see how being someone's father (or mother) makes you responsible for paying large swaths of your net worth to them. I had absolutely nothing to do with my parent's overall wealth (or lack thereof) and to expect any of it when they die is insane. I told my parents (and my in-laws who actually have some money) to blow all of their cash before they die. They earned it and deserve to enjoy it to their fullest extent. Not that I wouldn't mind some "free money" but they earned it, not me.
For what it is worth, my wife and her brother were both adopted from different families. It has been several years now, but they sought out their biological parents only to know their background. They didn't even necessarily want relationships with their bio-families. As far as my wife is concerned her "real" mom and dad are the ones that adopted her. They are the ones who raised her and were there for her when she was growing up.
The guy in this article is just a greedy asshole.
polly7
(20,582 posts)is still alive.
My sister gave up her baby she had when she was 18 and alone ... her boyfriend turned out to be an abusive pos. It was very painful for her and a horrible decision she had to make, but she did it. She didn't want to see the baby for obvious reasons, but baby was very small and fragile - the nurses in the local hospital kept bringing her in for my sister to hold and take care of. So ... it was made harder. She decided she never wanted to meet this daughter, believing she was being adopted into a very good home - (which it was.)
Anyway ... 19 years later, her daughter somehow tracked her down ... all the pain and guilt came back. She took her calls, and they met. Her daughter had been raised in an affluent family and had had everything a child could want. After a few months, she decided to go to stay with my sister and her husband in Ontario and while there, out of the blue, declared they needed to put her in their will. My sister and bil both have worked decent paying jobs - she as a nurse's aide and he with the RCMP, but they haven't a huge amount of money saved to leave anyone. The daughter phones every couple of months and lays on a guilt trip - it's tearing my sister apart. This may seem a horrible thing to say - but she doesn't even like her and despite being the most loving person - has no feelings at all for her as a daughter. I know nothing about legal issues, but I'm afraid that if something does happen to my sister or her husband there's going to be a huge mess. It makes me angry.
Victor_c3
(3,557 posts)Her bio mother and father were teenagers at the time she was born. Her mom was a 16-year-old coke addict and her father was the drug dealer trading drugs for sex with her mom. Adoption was a godsend for my wife. She was raised in an upper middleclass family with every opportunity a kid could want. Adoption, undoubtedly, gave my wife an opportunity in life that she wouldn't have had otherwise.
The story of your sister both saddens and angers me. She doesn't need to feel guilty for putting her daughter up for adoption and she shouldn't. by putting her up for adoption she gave her the best opportunity to succeed in life that she could. I hope that is clear to her.
polly7
(20,582 posts)even thinking about it much because she knew baby had gone to a good family. Now though, she's wondering all sorts of things - maybe she was abused, mistreated, neglected ... and on and on. Yet, her daughter has spoken of nothing like that and really, in glowing terms of her adoptive family and growing up.
After being contacted and the phone calls and a couple of meetings, my sister did try at first to bring her into the family - a very, very large family where no-one but my parents and brothers and sisters even knew she had a daughter - so it was extremely hard for her. But her daughter didn't seem to want to get to know any of us much at all when we tried to involve her. Actually, she didn't even seem to like us (and we're a nice, crazy and fun family, if I do say so myself) - I'm a pretty good judge of people, she's definitely not shy or anxious around strangers - and we all tried. She only seemed to want to be around my sister and bil, which is fine .... but, always with the little comments that make my sister feel guilty. It sounds harsh, but I'm at the point I'm ready to go for a visit and just tell her what my sister won't, flat out. If she wants to wait until one or both die and fight for what they have left - she can do it then. Until then, I just want her to leave them the hell alone.
I'm so glad your wife got the opportunities every child deserves - and maybe even a bit more. Children having children, especially troubled and addicted children - it's terrifying to think of what she might have had to endure.
Ilsa
(61,675 posts)benefit from counseling. Seeing someone with an objective point of view might help her get over the guilt trip this girl is laying on her.
polly7
(20,582 posts)whistler162
(11,155 posts)or something similar.
underpants
(182,271 posts)Kelvin Mace
(17,469 posts)They will be worth $170 million in 200 years.
JonathanRackham
(1,604 posts)[img][/img]
Xithras
(16,191 posts)He is suing for libel, slander and harassment.
The guy is a radio host and has been claiming that Shatner was his father since the 1980's. Shatner denies paternity. Because this guy publicly claims that Shatner is his father, Shatner's staff has had to publicly address the issue on Facebook and Twitter, and they've refuted his claims. Shatners lawyers have also shut down some of his online services for using copyrighted images of Shatner without permission, and for pretending to be part of the Shatner family. The guy claims that the denial of paternity is slander (because it essentially calls him a liar), and that shutting down his access to Shatner's image is harassment and interference.
He's not asking for the money back as some kind of child support, but he wants them as compensation for the "damages" he claims that Shatner has done.
TexasBushwhacker
(20,043 posts)He got adopted, then his parents divorced when he was 6. His father moved to Nigeria (!). Then his mother remarried and he was adopted by her new husband. When he was 26 he got back in touch with his first adoptive father.
I read through his website, petershatner.com and it seems that he has now written an autobiography called "The Search", which he is shopping around to publishers.
Yo_Mama
(8,303 posts)A) Not wanting to judge this man too harshly - after all we are all human and we are all imperfect, and this seems rather nuts, and
B) My intuitive reaction that this is a form of stalking and deserves a harsh rebuttal and public censure.
There is also the thought that this won't help adults who were adopted and are seeking contact with their birth parents and/or family one bit, which is one reason why it deserves public censure.
The Second Stone
(2,900 posts)biological son, then a libel suit would lie. Not much of one. But one would have thought the same of Hulk Hogan and his wandering videoed pee pee.
Monk06
(7,675 posts)AnnieBW
(10,350 posts)That's what happened to Kirk's last son!