From Test Tube to Testate

As the definition of family becomes increasingly complex, so does the definition of children and further descendants. Who is (and who is not) deemed to be a legal child of a marriage has implications throughout family law. How the law treats adopted children, those born out of wedlock, those born as a result of egg and sperm donation, those born via surrogates and even children conceived after the death of a parent affects support obligations, visitation rights, and often the basic parental rights of heterosexual and same-sex couples. This article addresses the ever-changing definition of children and issue in the context of estate planning and inheritance. (Note: A great deal of the information set forth in this article can be found in Chapter 15 of Adoption and Reproductive Technology Law in Massachusetts entitled Inheritance and Estate Planning Issues for Adoptive and Reproductive Technology Assisted Families authored by Shari A. Levitan, Esq., 625-671 (Susan L. Crockin ed., 2000)).