In re Brockmire

PAUL C. WILSON, Judge.

The issue in this case is whether a grandchild is entitled to inherit her biological grandfather’s estate where her mother (i.e., the decedent’s daughter) was adopted by her stepfather before the decedent died. Two statutes provide the answer. First, under section 474.060.1,1 an adopted child is a “child” of the adoptive parent for purposes of intestate succession, not the biological parent. Second, section 474.010(2)(a) provides that only the decedent’s children are entitled to inherit; grandchildren (or other descendants of a “child” of the decedent) inherit only if…