Do Children That The Decedent Placed For Adoption Decades Ago Have Inheritance Rights?

Family relationships are rarely simple.  Some stepparents are among their stepchildren’s closest confidantes; in some cases, when a remarried person dies, the decedent’s surviving spouse and the decedent’s children from a previous marriage will unofficially share the responsibilities of probate, even though the will only lists one of them as personal representative of the estate.  Others are sworn enemies of their stepchildren; the stepchildren view the stepparent as an interloper who sabotaged the stepchildren’s relationship with their parent, and the probate court is often the venue for these grievances.  Recently, the trend toward transparency about the birth parents of adopted children has made family dynamics in adoptive families more complicated, and DNA testing has made it easier for adoptees to contact their genetic relatives, only sometimes leading to a renewed familial bond.  According to Florida law, whether adoptees can inherit from the estates of their birth parents depends on the birth parent’s will.  If you are the personal representative of the estate of someone who gave birth to a child long ago and placed him or her for adoption, contact an Orlando probate lawyer.

Legal Parentage, Not Biology, Is What Matters in Intestate Succession

The simplest way to find out who has the right to inherit from a deceased person’s estate is to read the will.  The testator has the right to leave property to anyone he or she chooses, and to disinherit anyone he or she chooses.  Blood kinship does not give anyone the right to override the provisions of the decedent’s will; the only person who can get a bigger inheritance than the will indicates just by asking for it is the personal representative of the estate.

Florida follows its statewide rules of intestate succession if the decedent did not write a will.  In these cases, the decedent’s sons and daughters have the right to an inheritance.  These rules apply whether the sons and daughters are related to the decedent or whether the decedent adopted them; what matters is that the decedent was the children’s legal parent.  When a parent legally adopts a child, the child’s genetic parents cease to be the child’s legal parents.  Therefore, if your birth mother dies without a will after another family has legally adopted you, and you ask the personal representative of your birth mother’s estate for a share of the estate, the personal representative will say, “tough luck.”  The only way adoptees can inherit from their birth mother is if she leaves them an inheritance in her will.  If your adoptive mother dies without a will, however, you have the same right to an inheritance as your siblings, whether they are related to your adoptive mother by birth or adoption.

Contact Gierach and Gierach About Probate Cases Involving Adoptive Families

A probate lawyer can help you in your task as personal representative of an estate if the decedent placed one or more children for adoption.  Contact Gierach and Gierach, P.A. in Orlando, Florida to discuss your case.

Source:

caselaw.findlaw.com/court/fl-district-court-of-appeal/116478876.html