A woman born in Ibiza in 1967 has obtained legal recognition of her biological father after a paternity case that involved proceedings in both Switzerland and Spain. Nearly six decades after her birth, a DNA test established the biological relationship, and the Spanish courts upheld her claim.

The case reached the Fourth Section of the Provincial Court of the Balearic Islands, which issued its ruling on 25 September 2026. The court confirmed the paternity recognition originally granted by an Ibiza court in November 2025, while changing the decision on who should pay the legal costs.

The appeal did not overturn the finding of paternity. Instead, it focused on whether the man should be required to cover the woman's legal expenses.

DNA Evidence Establishes the Biological Relationship

The legal proceedings began at Ibiza's Court of First Instance No. 6, where the woman filed a claim for recognition of non-marital paternity.

On 11 November 2025, the court upheld her claim and declared the defendant to be her biological father, with the corresponding legal effects.

According to the account of the subsequent appeal ruling, the woman had said that the man initially denied being her father and had suggested that other people could be her biological parent.

The situation changed when the results of the genetic test became available. The DNA evidence was conclusive, and the man accepted the result.

The Provincial Court later noted that, after receiving the test results, the defendant had not maintained a particularly obstructive position.

Earlier Proceedings in Switzerland

An unusual aspect of the case was its earlier connection with the Swiss judicial system.

A Swiss court judgment relating to the paternity dispute was presented during the Spanish proceedings. However, the man argued that he had not participated in that case because he had not been officially notified of the proceedings.

The Provincial Court accepted that the Swiss proceedings had not been notified to him and that he had not taken part in them.

The judges also considered telephone calls that the woman had presented as earlier attempts to raise the paternity issue with the man. However, because the contents of those calls were unknown, the court concluded that they could not be treated as valid formal demands.

These circumstances were relevant to the court's assessment of whether the man should be ordered to pay the legal costs of the proceedings.

Why the Court Changed the Decision on Legal Costs

The woman argued that she had been forced to bring the case to court because the man had initially denied his paternity. She therefore believed he should be responsible for the legal expenses she had incurred.

The man appealed the original judgment on the issue of costs. According to the reported court reasoning, the judges considered the time that had passed since the woman's birth in 1967, the absence of evidence that he had previously been formally notified of the claim, and his acceptance of the DNA results.

The court considered that there had been reasonable uncertainty about the paternity before the genetic evidence became available. It therefore found insufficient grounds to require him to pay the woman's legal costs.

Paternity Recognition Remains in Place

In its ruling of 25 September 2026, the Fourth Section of the Provincial Court of the Balearic Islands partially upheld the man's appeal and changed the original decision concerning legal costs.

Each party must pay the legal expenses they incurred individually, while shared costs are to be divided equally. The court also decided not to order either party to pay the other's costs in the appeal proceedings.

However, the decision did not reverse the recognition of paternity. All other parts of the original Ibiza judgment were upheld, meaning the woman retains her legal recognition as the man's daughter.

The case therefore concludes with the biological relationship formally recognised by the Spanish courts, while the dispute over legal expenses was resolved separately.

For the woman, the outcome brings a legal conclusion to a paternity claim pursued nearly 60 years after her birth. For the court, the final decision also distinguishes between establishing biological parentage and determining who should bear the costs of the legal proceedings.