Intestate Inheritance Rights for Adopted Children - District of Columbia

Birth Parents in Relation to Adopted Person

Citation: Ann. Code § 16-312

All rights and duties, including those of inheritance and succession between the adopted person and his or her birth parents and their relatives, cease upon the final adoption decree. If, however, one of the birth parents is the spouse of the adopter, the rights and relations as between adoptee, the birth parents, and their relatives--including mutual rights of inheritance and succession--are not altered.

Adoptive Parents in Relation to Adopted Person

Citation: Ann. Code § 16-312

A final decree of adoption establishes the relationship of parent and child between the adopter and adoptee for all purposes, including mutual rights of inheritance and succession as if the adoptee were born to the adopter. The adoptee takes from, through, and as a representative of his or her adoptive parent(s) in the same manner as a child by birth; and upon the death of an adoptee intestate, his or her property shall pass and be distributed in the same manner as if the adoptee had been born to the adopting parent(s) in lawful wedlock.

Adopted Persons Who Are Not Included in a Will

This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed.