Personal representatives overseeing estate administration generally have to publish notice to alert creditors about probate proceedings. They may even publish an obituary in the local newspaper or place a memorial announcement on social media pages.
Those announcements can sometimes result in unexpected probate complications. Personal representatives may discover previously undisclosed children from the decedent’s prior marriage or an extramarital affair. Those previously unknown children may insist that they have a claim to a portion of the estate.
Do children from outside of the decedent’s primary family unit have a right of inheritance during estate administration?
A will can limit the impact of surprises
Estate administration is often easiest when the decedent left behind a will and other estate planning documents. In such cases, they provide direct instructions regarding their beneficiaries and the distribution of their property.
Surprise family members do not generally have a right of inheritance that supersedes the instructions provided by the decedent in their estate plan. Children do not have a statutory right of inheritance if their parents do not include them in their estate plans.
Unfortunately, many people do not have wills but instead die intestate. In an intestate succession scenario, half-siblings and secret children may actually have the same right of inheritance as the legitimized children from the decedent’s marital relationship.
If an individual dies without a will and surprise family members turn up, personal representatives face several challenges. They may need to take appropriate steps to validate their alleged relationship with the decedent and adjust estate administration accordingly. They may also need to advise other heirs of the impact this surprise could have on their inheritance.
Dealing with unusual estate administration complications requires insight into the law. Personal representatives dealing with unexpected claims may need legal guidance while determining how to respond, and that’s okay.