Adoption is for all purposes. I advised a legal enquiry today that he could not claim against the estate of his natural father (“birth parent”) since he had been adopted by another party and that for estate claims, his adoption was for “all purposes”.
Section 3 WESA re Adoption states:
Effect of adoption
3 (0.1) In this section, “pre-adoption parent” means a person who, before the adoption of a child, was the child’s parent.
(1) Subject to this section, if the relationship of parent and child arising from the adoption of a child must be established at any generation in order to determine succession under this Act, the relationship is to be determined in accordance with the Adoption Act respecting the effect of adoption.
(2) Subject to subsection (3), if a child is adopted,
(a) the child is not entitled to the estate of his or her pre-adoption parent except through the will of the pre-adoption parent, and
(b) a pre-adoption parent of the child is not entitled to the estate of the child except through the will of the child.
(3) Adoption of a child by the spouse of a pre-adoption parent does not terminate the relationship of parent and child between the child and the pre-adoption parent for purposes of succession under this Act.
In other words on an intestacy an adopted child may not inherit from his or her birth parent and a birth parent may not inherit from a child that has been adopted , with the exception of step-parent adoptions.
Nothing however prevents the right of both children and parents to leave a gift by will to each other irrespective of the adoption.
This section also precludes a child who has been adopted out from bringing a wills variation claim ( S 60 WESA) against the birth parent’s estate.