Trusts and Estates
Ca. Trs. & Estates Quarterly 2017, Volume 23, Issue 1
Content
- Avoiding the Knot: Estate and Tax Planning For Unmarried Couples
- MCLE Article: Conservatorship Accountings II: Market and Carry Values, Inventory and Appraisal, Bonds, and Using the Judicial Council Accounting Schedule Forms
- Tips of the Trade: Qualifying For the Parent-child Exclusion By Selling Trust Property To a Beneficiary Pursuant To a Right of First Refusal
- The Planning, Administration, and Litigation of the "Hems" Standard
- Luke, I Am Your Adoptive Father: Adult Adoptions and Inheritance - Contracting With Your "Parents"
LUKE, I AM YOUR ADOPTIVE FATHER: ADULT ADOPTIONS AND INHERITANCE – CONTRACTING WITH YOUR "PARENTS"
By Robert Barton, Esq.* and Mary K. deLeo, Esq.**
I. INTRODUCTION
The adoption of a minor child is a familiar concept. Lesser known is the adult adoption, where an adult adopts another adult as his or her child.1 Most states permit adult adoption, including California.
Adult adoptions may be done to formalize a parent-child relationship, such as in families that have foster parents or stepparents, or to reestablish a parent-child relationship between an adopted child and his or her birth parents. Adult adoptions, however, also alter inheritance and benefit rights. Most jurisdictions, including California, treat minor and adult adoptees identically to natural children for the purposes of inheritance and benefit rights.2