854.20 Status of adopted persons.

(1) Inheritance rights between adoptive person and adoptive relatives.

(a) Subject to par. (b) and sub. (5), a legally adopted person is treated as a birth child of the person's adoptive parents and the adoptive parents are treated as the birth parents of the adopted person for purposes of transfers at death to, through, and from the adopted person and for purposes of any statute or other rule conferring rights upon children, issue, or relatives in connection with the law of intestate succession or governing instruments.

(b) Subject to sub. (5), par. (a) applies only if at least one of the following applies:

1. The decedent or transferor is the adoptive parent or adopted child.

2. The adopted person was a minor at the time of adoption.

3. The adoptive parent raised the adopted person in a parent-like relationship beginning on or before the child's 15th birthday and lasting for a substantial period or until adulthood.

(2) Inheritance rights between adopted person and birth relatives.

(am) Subject to sub. (5), a legally adopted person ceases to be treated as a child of the person's birth parents and the birth parents cease to be treated as the parents of the child for the purposes specified in sub. (1) (a), except:

1. If the parent-child relationship between the child and one birth parent is replaced by adoption, but the relationship to the other birth parent is not replaced, then for all purposes the child continues to be treated as the child of the birth parent whose relationship was not replaced.

2.

a. Subject to subd. 2. b. and c., if a birth parent of a child born to married parents dies and the other birth parent subsequently remarries and the child is adopted by the stepparent, the child continues to be treated as the child of the deceased birth parent for purposes of transfers at death through that parent and for purposes of any statute or other rule conferring rights upon children, issue or relatives of that parent under the law of intestate succession or governing instruments.

b. Subd. 2. a. applies only if the adopted person was a minor at the time of adoption or if the adoptive parent raised the adopted person in a parent-like relationship beginning on or before the child's 15th birthday and lasting for a substantial period or until adulthood.

c. Subdivision 2. a. does not apply if the parental rights of the deceased birth parent had been terminated.

(bm) Subject to sub. (5), if an adopted child is subsequently adopted by another person, the former adoptive parent is considered to be a birth parent for purposes of this subsection.

(5) Contrary intent. If the transfer is made under a governing instrument and the person who executed the governing instrument had an intent contrary to any provision in this section, then that provision is not applicable to the transfer. Extrinsic evidence may be used to construe the intent.

History: 1983 a. 447; 1993 a. 486; 1997 a. 188 ss. 96, 175; Stats. 1997 s. 854.20; 2005 a. 216.