Tennessee § 31-2-105 - Establishment of parent-child relationship to determine succession.

§ 31-2-105. Establishment of parent-child relationship to determine succession.

If, for purposes of inheritance under a will or trust or by intestate succession or contract, a relationship of parent and child must be established to determine succession by, through, or from a person: An adopted person is the child of an adopting parent and not of the natural parents, except that adoption of a child by the spouse of a natural parent has no effect on the relationship between the child and that natural parent; and In cases not covered by subdivision (a)(1), a person born out of wedlock is a child of the mother. That person is also a child of the father, if: The natural parents participated in a marriage ceremony before or after the birth of the child, even though the attempted marriage is void; or The paternity is established by adjudication before the death of the father or is established thereafter by clear and convincing proof, but only if an assertion of paternity is made that seeks the adjudication within the earlier of: The period prescribed in the notice published or posted in accordance with § 30-2-306; or One (1) year after the father's death; The paternity established under this subdivision (a)(2)(B) is ineffective to qualify the father or the father's kindred to inherit from or through the child unless the father has openly treated the child as the father's, and has not refused to support the child. In no event is a parent permitted to inherit through intestate succession or under a will or trust or by contract until all child support arrearages together with any interest owed, at the legal rate of interest computed from the date each payment was due, have been paid in full to the parent ordered to receive support or to the parent's estate if deceased. Nothing in this section prevents a child from inheriting from a parent through intestate succession. Acts 1977, ch. 25, § 4; 1978, ch. 763, § 3; T.C.A., § 31-206; Acts 1986, ch. 580, § 5; 1994, ch. 939, § 2; 2017, ch. 290, § 9. Amendments. The 2017 amendment, in (a), substituted “purposes of inheritance under a will or trust or by intestate succession or contract,” for “purposes of intestate succession,” in the introductory language, and rewrote (a)(2)(B) which read: “The paternity is established by an adjudication before the death of the father or is established thereafter by clear and convincing proof, but the paternity established under this subdivision (a)(2)(B) is ineffective to qualify the father or the father's kindred to inherit from or through the child unless the father has openly treated the child as the father's, and has not refused to support the child.”; rewrote (b) which read: “In no event shall a parent be permitted to inherit through intestate succession until all child support arrearages together with interest thereon at the legal rate of interest computed from the date each payment was due have been paid in full to the parent ordered to receive support or to the parent's estate if deceased.”; and substituted “prevents a child” for “shall be construed to prevent a child” in (c). Effective Dates. Acts 2017, ch. 290, § 16. July 1, 2017. Cross-References. Legitimation and paternity, title 36, ch. 2, part 3. Textbooks. Pritchard on Wills and Administration of Estates (4th ed., Phillips and Robinson), §§ 302, 441, 447, 551, 637, 817, 829. Law Reviews. A Critical Survey of Developments in Tennessee Family Law in 1976-77, V. Children (Neil P. Cohen), 45 Tenn. L. Rev. 451 (1978). Decedents' Estates— Bilbrey v. Smithers: Limitations on Post-Death Paternity Claims for Purposes of Intestate Succession in Tennessee, 27 Mem. St. U.L. Rev. 517 (1977). Intestate Succession in Tennessee (Douglas P. Quay), 8 Mem. St. U.L. Rev. 63 (1978). New-Age Babies and Age-Old Laws: The Need for an Intent-Based Approach in Tennessee to Preserve Parent-Child Succession for Children of Assisted Reproductive Technology (Jane Marie Lewis), 43 U. Mem. L. Rev. 479 (2012). Survey of Tennessee Property Law, II. Estates in General (Toxey H. Sewell), 46 Tenn. L. Rev. 161 (1979).