Full question:
My parents were never married, and my father had been providing us support under an agreement. He had married another woman and had children from that marriage. My father passed away a few months back, and had not left behind a Will. We live in Adams Center, New York. Can I inherit a share of my father’s estate because he was supporting us, and had always considered me as his son?
- Category: Wills and Estates
- Date:
- State: New York
Answer:
In New York, when a person dies without a will, their estate is distributed according to the New York Estates, Powers and Trusts Law § 4-1.1. If the deceased is survived by a wife and children, the wife receives fifty thousand dollars and half of the remaining estate, while the children inherit the rest.
As a non-marital child, you can inherit from your father if there is a court order of filiation declaring paternity issued during his lifetime. Alternatively, if your parents signed an acknowledgment of paternity and filed it with the appropriate district registrar, that may also establish your right to inherit. Additionally, if your father signed a paternity acknowledgment in a legally recognized format and it was filed within the required time frame, you may inherit as well.
However, simply having an agreement for support does not grant you inheritance rights without the necessary legal acknowledgment or court order. Therefore, to inherit from your father, you need either a court order of filiation or a valid acknowledgment of paternity as described in the law.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.