## Facts

- Stephen Glenn Brittin died intestate.
- Brittin married a woman who had an adult son, William Eugene, and later adopted William after William’s mother died.
- William was approximately 46 years old at the time of adoption and already had five children: Deborah J. Roeder, Linda Brittin, Denise Brittin, Stacie Brittin, and Laura Moore.
- All five children were born before William’s adoption.
- William predeceased Brittin.
- In the initial probate proceedings, Brittin’s biological daughter, Mary Ann Buckman, was treated as the sole heir and the estate was distributed.
- William’s children later sought recognition as heirs through intestate succession based on William’s adoption.

## Issues

1. Whether an adult adoption makes the adoptee a “child” and “descendant” of the adopting parent for intestate succession under Illinois law.
2. Whether the adoptee’s biological children, born before the adoption, become “grandchildren” of the adopting parent and may inherit through the adoptee’s line.
3. Whether the probate court properly reopened the estate to determine heirship and adjust distribution.

## Decision

- The appellate court affirmed the probate court’s order reopening the estate and determining heirship.
- The court held that Illinois probate law does not limit descendant status to adoptions of minors; an adult adoptee is a descendant of the adopting parent for inheritance purposes.
- The court held that the adoptee’s children, by virtue of the adoption, are treated as the adopting parent’s grandchildren, even if born before the adoption.
- The court rejected an implied temporal limitation barring inheritance by descendants born before the adoption.
- The court upheld reopening the estate because the grandchildren had a legally cognizable claim to heirship and had not been included in the original heirship determination.

## Legal Principles

- When adult adoption is authorized by statute and the intestacy statute treats an adopted child as a descendant of the adopting parent, courts will not impose a minor-only limitation absent statutory text.
- Treating an adoptee as the adoptive parent’s child for inheritance purposes carries lineal consequences: the adoptee’s children are treated as the adoptive parent’s grandchildren for intestate succession.
- In the absence of statutory exceptions or an express contrary intent, descendants of an adoptee may inherit through the adoptive line without regard to whether they were born before or after the adoption.
- Probate courts may reopen an estate to correct or complete heirship determinations when additional heirs with a valid statutory claim are identified after distribution.

## Conclusion

The court held that an adult adoptee is a descendant of the adopting parent for intestate inheritance and that the adoptee’s children, including those born before the adoption, are treated as the adopting parent’s grandchildren; it therefore affirmed reopening the estate and recognizing the adoptee’s children as heirs alongside the biological daughter.


In re Estate of Brittin, 664 N.E.2d 687 (Ill. App. Ct. 5th Dist. 1996)