Questions about adopted children’s rights often come up during divorce, medical emergencies or inheritance disputes. Many people worry that adoption means they will not be able to inherit anything from their parents, or that they are lower on the priority list compared to biological children. With this in mind, it is important to decide whether or not adoption affects a person’s rights.
Does adoption create a full parent-child relationship?
Pennsylvania’s Adoption Act states that a final adoption decree creates the relationship of parent and child between the adopter and the adoptee. By law, adopted children have the same rights as the biological children of their adoptive parents.
How does adoption affect inheritance?
If an adoptive parent of a child passes away, Pennsylvania law generally treats the child as if they were biologically related for inheritance. Pennsylvania also allows spouses to legally adopt step-children, creating a parent-child legal relationship. This means that adopted children are in the same line of inheritance as biological children when a parent dies without a will.
However, matters of inheritance with adopted children can become more complex when their birth family members are involved. Adoption ends the legal relationship between a child and their birth parents. This means the child usually cannot inherit from them. However, there are exceptions. If the birth parents name the child in a will, trust or as a beneficiary, the child can still inherit. If an adopted child’s biological parents include them in their will or register them as a beneficiary, they can still receive an inheritance from them.
What does this mean for adopted children?
Some people might find it stressful worrying about whether or not they gain or lose rights by being adopted, but in Pennsylvania, adoption does not create second-class status. The state generally gives adopted children the same legal rights as biological children in an adoptive family, while severing their ties to their birth parents.
It can be difficult to navigate one’s rights when adoption and matters concerning family law are involved. To deepen their understanding, many people talk to attorneys for guidance.