Take Or Pay: Belgium's King Albert II Faces Daily Fine In Paternity Dispute

[50 shades of black + 254]

King Albert II, who abdicated from the Belgian throne six years ago, is to be fined €5,000 ($5,600) for every day that he refuses to undergo a DNA test to disprove claims he fathered a child during an extramarital affair in the 1960s. An appeals court made the order after rejecting Albert’s attempts to delay giving a saliva sample, in the latest twist of a long-running paternity claim by a 50-year-old artist, Delphine Boël. Boël has been fighting in the courts for six years to get proof that Albert, 84, is her biological father. If she is able to prove paternity she could take the name Delphine Van België and, by royal decree, the title of princess. She would also be entitled to one-eighth of Albert’s estate, half of which is reserved for his children. Boël’s claim received a boost last autumn when the Brussels court of appeal ruled that Jacques Boël was not her biological father and instructed an expert from Erasmus hospital to carry out genetic test to compare her DNA with Albert’s. Albert’s lawyers argued he should not have to give a sample until an appeal against that ruling was heard in a higher court. On Thursday a judge said the process should not be delayed, although the results of the test will not be heard until the court of cassation, Belgium’s court of last resort, makes a decision on the legality of the original ruling.

[Pavel + 384]

The law is the same for all, right?

[pinto + 293]

I hope it will force him to do the test. For King Albert II, money is very important because a few years ago he made complaints about his donation  

[francoba + 93]

But, will this force him to take the test, it's a big question...

[ThunderBlade + 231]

Like in chess: King can take a single step, but judiciary can cover more distance...  on the end he will pay...

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

Not to put too fine a point on it, but more men get into more trouble when they forget that their tools belong carefully stored in their own garage, not the neighbor's.  Otherwise, when you go to work on the car, well, you already know the rest......