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T.C.A.
§ 31-2-105 discusses an adopted child’s legal status under Tennessee law
when their adopted parent dies without a will (intestate). Specifically, subsection (a) provides as
follows:
(a) If, for purposes of intestate succession, a relationship of parent
and child must be established to determine succession by, through, or from a
person:
(1) An adopted person is the child of an adopting parent and not of the
natural parents except that adoption of a child by the spouse of a natural
parent has no effect on the relationship between the child and that natural parent;
As a result, under
Tennessee law an adopted child is considered to be the child of an adopting
parent, not the natural parent. One
exception is when the child is adopted by a spouse of a natural parent, then
the child is still considered to be the child of that specific natural parent
(not the other natural parent).
Additionally, under T.C.A.
§ 31-1-101(6) an adopted child is considered to be "issue" from the
deceased just like a natural born child.
This is the statute that defines the term “issue” which is used
throughout the intestate succession statutes and it states as follows:
(6) ”Issue” of a
person means all the person's lineal descendants, adopted as well as natural
born, of all generations, with the relationship of parent and child at each
generation being determined by the definitions of child and parent contained in
this title;
The definition of
“child” under the statute also identifies an adopted child as having an equal
st...
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