Adopted Out Child Does Not Share in Trusts

In Matter of Piel, __ N.Y.2d __ (decided March 13, 2008), the New York Court of Appeals held that a child adopted out of a family by third parties is not entitled to share in a class gift to the biological parent's issue created under 1926 and 1963 irrevocable trusts, even though at the time the trusts were created, New York law permitted an adopted-out child to inherit in intestacy from biological parent. Those rights were terminated, as of March 1, 1964 with the enactment of Domestic Relations Law §117. The grounded its decision on the strong public policy in favor of assimilating the child into his/her new family with the legal relationship of parent and child. The Court also stressed the potential trust administration problems if adopted out children were permitted to participate in a class created by a pre-1964 trust, because of the difficult of unearthing adoption decree dating back many years or of locating witnesses who could recall the details of adoptions occurring long ago. Moreover, the Court noted that if the rule were otherwise a trustee seeking closure would face an onerous burden of searching our unknown potential beneficiaries.