Q: is my niece still considered family if she was adopted by someone outside the family & had her name changed?
My sister in-law filed for divorce from my brother while he had ALS. My brother died before the divorce was final. My sister in-law remarried shortly after. Her new husband adopted my niece & she now goes by her adopted father's name. Is my niece still entitled to family assets when my mom passes away since my niece is technically no longer part of my family?
A:
The adoption terminated the legal relationship between the biological parent and the child and created a new legal relationship between the adoptive parent and the child.
Because the biological parents’ rights were terminated, the child no longer has an automatic right to an inheritance from their estate or from the estate of a related family member (i.e. grandparent).
That legal connection is instead transferred to the adoptive parent.
However, a grandparent can choose to include any biological children, as a beneficiary in their will.
As long as none of their other family members contest the will and the inclusion of that child, that request is honored.
The interesting thing is that while the adoption terminated the relationship between the child and the biological parent, in New Jersey, it does not automatically terminate the legal relationships between the child and the grandparents.
New Jersey has a “grandparent’s rights” statute which protects the rights of New Jersey grandparents and that statute could provide an entitlement to visitation for them under certain circumstances.
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