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 Natural children are the biological children of their parents. This article discusses the inheritance rights of those children.
In Texas, in general, children inherit the estate of their parents if there is no valid will. The spouse of the parent will also inherit a portion of the estate. How much the spouse inherits depends on whether the spouse is also the parent of the children (more) or the step parent of the children (less.) Read here for a discussion of the kinds of property involved and what the spouse and children receive when there is no will. |
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 As an easy starting point to learn about the inheritance rights of children, the following list is provided:
- The inheritance rights of natural children;
- The inheritance rights of adopted children;
- The inheritance rights of children born after a will is made; and
- The inheritance rights of illegitimate children.
Click on one of the links above to learn more about the inheritance rights of children. If you don't find the exact answer to your question, use the search box in the upper right hand corner to refine your search.
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When a child is adopted, he becomes the child of his adoptive parents. He inherits from and through them. That means that the adopted child will inherit from the ancestors of the parent who adopted him as well as from the parent. The question is often asked about the inheritance rights of the child from his natural or biological parents. Generally, the adopted child inherits from his biological parents and his adoptive parents. Of course, this only applies if the parents, adoptive or biological, don't have wills. If either or both have wills, their estate goes to whomever they say in their will. Texas does not have "forced heirship." An adoptive or biological parent does not have to leave anything to his children. But if he dies |
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 Until 1991, illegitimate children did not inherit from their parents. In that year, the Texas Supreme Court, following an earlier ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court held that the statutes that deny inheritance rights to illegitimate children violate the Constitution's equal protection clause.
As originally enacted, the Probate Code accorded paternal inheritance rights to an illegitimate child only if the parents had married after the child's birth. The statute was amended several times to allow inheritance rights to illegitimate children if the father took some voluntary action to acknowledge the child before he died. In declaring the statute unconstitutional, the Supreme Court said "(t)he legal status of illegitimacy is, like race or national origin, a characteristic beyond an individual's control, and it bears no relation to the individual's ability to participate in and contribute to society...thus, a statutory classification based on illegitimacy violates equal protection unless it is substantially related to an important |
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Leanr more about the inheritance rights of illegitimate children
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 In Texas, informal adoptions like informal marriages are recognized.
A formal adoption is where the court system is involved. A suit for adoption is filed. The state investigates the adopting parents to make sure that they are good candidates for adoption. The home will also be inspected to make sure that the adopted child will be provided for. Once a report is filed, the judge approves the adoption and the adopted person becomes the child of the adopting parents with the same rights as a natural born child. That means that the adopted child inherits not only from the adopting parents but through them. They will inherit from grandparents and aunts and uncles to the same degree that a natural born child would inherit from them. An informal adoption is similar to a common law marriage in that no formal legal proceedings are involved. These adoptions may be called adoption by estoppel, equitable adoption or adoption status by the courts discussing them. The courts treat these as contract cases in that once the facts are established, the heirs of the adopting parent are estopped from denying the adopted child his inheritance rights. The courts look for an enforceable agreement between |
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Read more about natural born and adopted children
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