North Dakota § 14-15-14 - Effect of petition and decree of adoption

§ 14-15-14. Effect of petition and decree of adoption

1. A final decree of adoption and an interlocutory decree of adoption which has become final, whether issued by a court of this state or of any other place, have the following effect as to matters within the jurisdiction or before a court of this state: a. Except with respect to a spouse of the petitioner and relatives of the spouse, to relieve the biological parents of the adopted individual of all parental rights and responsibilities, and to terminate all legal relationships between the adopted individual and the individual's relatives, including the individual's biological parents, so that the adopted individual thereafter is a stranger to the individual's former relatives for all purposes, including inheritance and the interpretation or construction of documents, statutes, and instruments, whether executed before or after the adoption is decreed, that do not expressly include the individual by name or by some designation not based on a parent and child or blood relationship; and b. To create the relationship of parent and child between petitioner and the adopted individual, as if the adopted individual were a legitimate blood descendant of the petitioner, for all purposes, including inheritance and applicability of statutes, documents, and instruments, whether executed before or after the adoption is decreed, which do not expressly exclude an adopted individual from their operation or effect. 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 1, if a parent of a child dies without the relationship of parent and child having been previously terminated and a spouse of the living parent thereafter adopts the child, the child's right of inheritance from or through the deceased parent is unaffected by the adoption. 3. An interlocutory decree of adoption, while it is in force, has the same legal effect as a final decree of adoption. If an interlocutory decree of adoption is vacated, it must be as though void from its issuance, and the rights, liabilities, and status of all affected individuals which have not become vested must be governed accordingly.