Intestate Inheritance Rights for Adopted Children - Northern Mariana Islands

Date: February 2016

Birth Parents in Relation to Adopted Person

Citation: Commonwealth Code Tit. 8, § 1412

Upon the final decree of adoption, the right of the adopted person to inherit from the birth parents ceases.

Adoptive Parents in Relation to Adopted Person

Citation: Commonwealth Code Tit. 8, § 1412

The adopted person gains the right of inheritance from the adoptive parent(s) upon final decree to create the relationship of parent and child, as if the adopted person were the birth relative of the adoptive parent(s).

Adopted Persons Who Are Not Included in a Will

Citation: Commonwealth Code Tit. 8, § 2702

If a testator fails to provide in his or her will for any children born or adopted after the execution of the will, the omitted child receives a share in the estate equal in value to that which he or she would have received if the testator had died intestate unless:

  • It appears from the will that the omission was intentional.
  • When the will was executed, the testator had one or more children and devised substantially all his or her estate to the other parent of the omitted child.
  • The testator provided for the child by transfer outside the will and the intent that the transfer be in lieu of a testamentary provision is shown by statements of the testator, from the amount of the transfer, or other evidence.

If at the time of execution of the will the testator fails to provide in his or her will for a living child solely because the testator believes the child to be dead, the child receives a share in the estate equal in value to that which he would have received if the testator had died intestate.

For the purposes of this section, an adopted child may claim as a pretermitted child through the child's adopted and natural parents. This provision shall not apply to pretermitted children who have failed to establish paternity by an adjudication prior to the death of the father, unless:

  • The natural parents participated in a marriage ceremony before or after the birth of the child.
  • It is established by clear and convincing evidence that the father openly and notoriously held the child out as his own during his lifetime.

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