§ 117 — Effect of adoption

New York § 117

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law DOM: Domestic Relations
• Title 4: Effect of Adoption From an Authorized Agency, of Private-placement Adoption, and Abrogations Thereof
• Art. 7: Adoption

Text

§ 117. Effect of adoption. 1. (a) After the making of an order of\nadoption the birth parents of the adoptive child shall be relieved of\nall parental duties toward and of all responsibilities for and shall\nhave no rights over such adoptive child or to his property by descent or\nsuccession, except as hereinafter stated.\n (b) The rights of an adoptive child to inheritance and succession from\nand through his birth parents shall terminate upon the making of the\norder of adoption except as hereinafter provided.\n (c) The adoptive parents or parent and the adoptive child shall\nsustain toward each other the legal relation of parent and child and\nshall have all the rights and be subject to all the duties of that\nrelation including the rights of inheritance from and through each other\nand the birth and adopted kindred of the adoptive parents or parent.\n (d) When a birth or adoptive parent, having lawful custody of a child,\nmarries or remarries and consents that the stepparent may adopt such\nchild, such consent shall not relieve the parent so consenting of any\nparental duty toward such child nor shall such consent or the order of\nadoption affect the rights of such consenting spouse and such adoptive\nchild to inherit from and through each other and the birth and adopted\nkindred of such consenting spouse.\n (e) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs (a), (b) and (d) of\nthis subdivision, as to estates of persons dying after the thirty-first\nday of August, nineteen hundred eighty-seven, if:\n (1) the decedent is the adoptive child's birth grandparent or is a\ndescendant of such grandparent, and\n (2) an adoptive parent (i) is married to the child's birth parent,\n(ii) is the child's birth grandparent, or (iii) is descended from such\ngrandparent,\nthe rights of an adoptive child to inheritance and succession from and\nthrough either birth parent shall not terminate upon the making of the\norder of adoption.\n However, an adoptive child who is related to the decedent both by\nbirth relationship and by adoption shall be entitled to inherit only\nunder the birth relationship unless the decedent is also the adoptive\nparent, in which case the adoptive child shall then be entitled to\ninherit pursuant to the adoptive relationship only.\n (f) The right of inheritance of an adoptive child extends to the\ndistributees of such child and such distributees shall be the same as if\nhe were the birth child of the adoptive parent.\n (g) Adoptive children and birth children shall have all the rights of\nfraternal relationship including the right of inheritance from each\nother. Such right of inheritance extends to the distributees of such\nadoptive children and birth children and such distributees shall be the\nsame as if each such child were the birth child of the adoptive parents.\n (h) The consent of the parent of a child to the adoption of such child\nby his or her spouse shall operate to vest in the adopting spouse only\nthe rights as distributee of a birth parent and shall leave otherwise\nunaffected the rights as distributee of the consenting spouse.\n (i) This subdivision shall apply only to the intestate descent and\ndistribution of real and personal property.\n 2. (a) Except as hereinafter stated, after the making of an order of\nadoption, adopted children and their issue thereafter are strangers to\nany birth relatives for the purpose of the interpretation or\nconstruction of a disposition in any instrument, whether executed before\nor after the order of adoption, which does not express a contrary\nintention or does not expressly include the individual by name or by\nsome classification not based on a parent-child or family relationship.\n (b) As to the wills of persons executed after the thirty-first day of\nAugust, nineteen hundred eighty-six, or to lifetime instruments executed\nafter such date whether executed before or after the order of adoption,\na designation of a class of persons described in section 2-1.3 of the\nestates, powers and trusts law shall, unless the will or instrument\nexpresses a contrary intention, be deemed to include an adoptive child\nwho was a member of such class in his or her birth relationship prior to\nadoption, and the issue of such child, only if:\n (1) an adoptive parent (i) is married to the child's birth parent,\n(ii) is the child's birth grandparent, or (iii) is a descendant of such\ngrandparent, and\n (2) the testator or creator is the child's birth grandparent or a\ndescendant of such grandparent.\n (c) A person who, by reason of this subdivision, would be a member of\nthe designated class, or a member of two or more designated classes\npursuant to a single instrument, both by birth relationship and by\nadoption shall be entitled to benefit only under the birth relationship,\nunless the testator or creator is the adoptive parent, in which case the\nperson shall then be entitled to benefit only under the adoptive\nrelationship.\n (d) The provisions of this subdivision shall not impair or defeat any\nrights which have vested on or before the thirty-first day of August,\nnineteen hundred eighty-six, or which have vested prior to the adoption\nregardless of when the adoption occurred.\n 3. The provisions of law affected by the provisions of this section in\nforce prior to March first, nineteen hundred sixty-four shall apply to\nthe estates or wills of persons dying prior thereto and to lifetime\ninstruments theretofore executed which on said date were not subject to\ngrantor's power to revoke or amend.\n