Mason always told people he had five children. Actually, he only had three biological children. The other two were his stepchildren Mason raised after his second wife passed away. He treated all five children equally and made no distinction among them whether they were blood relatives or not. To Mason, they were all the same. 

As with many families, Mason’s biological children did not get along with his stepchildren.  As the years passed, the divide between the biological children and stepchildren grew. When Mason died, his stepchildren discovered that Mason failed to execute a last will and testament or any other estate documents.  They learned, to their dismay, that they would not share in Mason’s estate since Ohio law did not consider them to be his children.

I have previously written about the distribution of estate assets when a decedent dies without a last will and testament. Ohio law prioritizes the decedent’s next of kin through the statute of descent and distribution. The probate court uses this statute to identify the legal next of kin and to prioritize distribution of estate assets. A surviving spouse and children enjoy the highest priority of rank. However, there are often disputes about who qualifies as a child of a decedent. The law provides that children are “one degree removed in kindred from the decedent.” But are adopted children included? What about stepchildren? What about children whose paternity has not been established?  The short answer: unless a decedent established a parent-child relationship before their death or name them in a last will and testament, then these children will not inherit from the decedent. 

There are several ways legally to establish a parent-child relationship for purposes of inheritance.

A common way is through a certified birth certificate. Courts and government offices must rely on the facts set forth in the document. However, it is important to note that birth certificates can be rebutted by some other evidence like the results of genetic testing. 

Another way is through adoption. The adoption process creates a relationship equal to a blood descendant, so an adopted child will inherit from a decedent the same as a biological child. Stepchildren and foster children, however, will not inherit from the decedent unless the decedent adopted them prior to death or the decedent named them in his last will and testament.

Ohio’s Parentage Act provides another method. This law sets forth circumstances under which a man is presumed to be the natural father of a child under any of the following circumstances:

(1) The man and the child's mother are or have been married to each other, and the child is born during the marriage or is born within three hundred days after the marriage is terminated by death, annulment, divorce, or dissolution;

(2) The man and the child's mother attempted before the child's birth to marry each other by a marriage that was solemnized in apparent compliance with the law of the state in which the marriage took place and the child is born during the marriage or within three hundred days after the termination of the marriage by death, annulment, divorce, or dissolution; or

(3) The man files an acknowledgment of paternity in the office of child support in the department of job and family services.

There is also a procedure whereby a person can identify his or her heirs publicly before they die. They do this through the county probate court by executing a declaration before the judge and two disinterested witnesses that designates the person’s heirs at law.

Ultimately, to avoid any question, it is best to name beneficiaries in a last will and testament or other estate planning document.  Mason could have included his stepchildren in this way. If you have any questions about providing for loved ones upon your death, you should consult with a trusted probate attorney to make sure that nobody is left out.  Laribee & Hertrick, LLP is here to assist you. 

Michael Laribee is a partner in the Medina law firm of Laribee Law, LLP. This article is intended to provide general information about the law. It is not intended to give legal advice. Readers are urged to seek advice from an attorney regarding their specific issues and rights.