Full question:
In the case of inheritance with a will that lists the living children of the deceased as heirs and disinherits the biological daughter of a deceased child, would an adopted child inherit if the parents were seperated or divorced and the deceased did not know of the adoption? The son preceded his father in death. The grandfather of the adopted child was preceded in death by his son Jim who adopted his wife’s child by a previous marriage. They were separated in 1993 and Jim passed in 1995. The grandfather , Tom would be the adopted grandfather, he passed January 18,2010.
- Category: Wills and Estates
- Date:
- State: Colorado
Answer:
The answer depends on the will's language. Generally, adopted children have the same inheritance rights as biological children, even if the deceased was unaware of the adoption. If the adopted child's father was an heir in the will, and the will states distribution is to be made 'per stirpes' or 'by right of representation,' then the adopted child's heirs can inherit the deceased son's share. If the will does not specify this, the deceased son's share may go into the estate's residue and be distributed according to the will's residuary clause, which outlines how unspecified property will be allocated.
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