## Facts

- John J. Donnelly, Sr. and Lily Donnelly had two children: Kathleen and John J. Donnelly, Jr.
- John Jr. and Faith Donnelly had one child, Jean Louise Donnelly; John Jr. died less than a year after Jean’s birth.
- Faith remarried; Jean was adopted by her stepfather by court decree, her name was changed, and she lived thereafter as the child of her mother and adoptive father.
- Lily died leaving a will that devised her entire estate to John Sr. and did not provide for the children; John Sr. later died after Lily, and his will contained no disposition if Lily predeceased him, so his estate was treated as intestate.
- Kathleen, as administratrix, petitioned for a determination of heirship seeking a declaration that Jean (the adopted granddaughter) take nothing and that Kathleen be the sole heir of both estates.

## Issues

1. Whether an adopted child may inherit by intestate succession from her natural grandparents under Washington law.
2. Whether adoption statutes and intestacy provisions sever the adoptee’s inheritance rights only as to natural parents or also as to natural kindred (including grandparents).

## Decision

- The Washington Supreme Court reversed the lower courts.
- The court held that an adopted child may not inherit by intestacy from her natural grandparents.
- The court ruled that adoption severs intestate succession rights in the natural family line and substitutes inheritance rights in the adoptive family line.
- The case was remanded with directions to adjudge Kathleen the sole heir and to exclude Jean as an heir.

## Legal Principles

- Intestate succession rights are statutory; courts apply legislative choices rather than equitable preferences.
- Statutes providing that an adopted child is not an heir of natural parents, read with adoption provisions terminating natural parents’ legal rights and obligations, reflect an intent to transfer intestate inheritance rights out of the natural family and into the adoptive family.
- Once adoption eliminates the legal parent-child relationship for inheritance purposes, the adoptee cannot inherit “through” the natural parent to more remote natural relatives; the line of descent for intestacy is broken.
- A rule ending the adoptee’s intestate rights in the natural family supports predictability in identifying heirs and aligns with treating the adoptee as the child of the adoptive parents for legal purposes.

## Conclusion

The court held that adoption terminates an adoptee’s intestate inheritance rights not only from natural parents but also from natural grandparents and other natural kindred, making the adoptee eligible to take by intestacy only within the adoptive family line absent statutory authorization to the contrary.


In re Estates of Donnelly, 81 Wash. 2d 430, 502 P.2d 1163 (Wash. 1972)