Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Texas
Adopted disabled son sues for stepfather's estate
My stepfather has been legally married to my mother for 38 years. He has a will and a living revocable trust in which all of his estate will go to my mother. He was legally married before and adopted a disabled boy who was the natural son of his first wife. He was legally divorced when he married my mother;his second and current wife. The adopted son has always lived with his natural mother. He never resided with my step father after he divorced his first wife. Now, the adopted son's birth mother wants his adoption papers which are lost.Note the adopted son is now 48 years old and was adopted while my stepfather was stationed in Germany and married to his first wife.We have found that my stepfather's ex-wife wants to sue my mother for money when my step father dies for her diabled son . All child support was paid until the age of 18 which was in their divorce decree. The adopted son receives disability from social security.Does she, the ex-wife, have a legal stand for suing his second wife for money? Thank you for your time.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Adopted disabled son sues for stepfather's estate
I would say that ex-wife probably has no standing. As a party to the adoption, ex can get a copy of the papers herself where they are of record. Be sure step-father visits an attorney to make sure all affairs are in order.
Re: Adopted disabled son sues for stepfather's estate
It's important to note that the adopted son has the same legal rights as any biological children. If your father were to die without a will, as a hypothetical, the adopted son would have some rights to the estate as would any biological children.
That being said, your father can leave his estate to whomever he chooses to designate as his beneficiary. Assuming that his will and trust documents are properly drafted, his estate will pass to your mother as he has directed.
The ex wife would not have any standing to sue for part of his estate under the facts you describe. If the decree had ordered your father to pay support for the disabled son (and that can happen) he might owe for back support, but you said your father has met all of his past support obligations, so that is not a factor. Aside from that, the statute of limitation would bar a suit since the adopted son is 48 now.
One thing that you might have your father do is consider if he would indeed like to give anything to the disabled son. After all they did have a relationship at one time. If not, he should have his attorney add some language to the will specifically disinheriting the adopted son so that if there ever is a contest of the will, the court will be on notice that the adopted son was not merely overlooked in drafting the will, but that it was your father's intent not to bequest anything to the son.
By the way, the Bureau of Vital Statistics in the state where the adoption occurred is where you would find those papers indicating the adoption.
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