Are you among the more than 30 million people worldwide who have submitted their DNA to companies like “23andMe” or “AncestryDNA?” Regardless of which provider you choose; the process is pretty much the same. Once processed, you receive an email inviting you to log in for your results. What did you find out when you got your results back? Did the results confirm or correct what you thought you knew about your family heritage? I’ve had friends tell me that they had always been told by family members about a several-times-great-grandparent who was Native American (sometimes they even knew what specific tribe), only to find from their DNA that they have no Native American ancestry whatsoever. In addition to stories like this, I’ve heard stories about discovering family members that no one knew about. Results like this can drastically alter how your assets might be distributed after your death! Here are four examples that I have firsthand knowledge of:
1. A retired physician, still alive in his 90s, a California resident, made at least one sperm donation while in medical school, which resulted in a child being conceived and born 50+ years ago. That child contacted and was very much welcomed by the family.
2. A friend’s father passed away 30+ years ago. One of her siblings submitted his DNA when he was recently given a test kit as a gift. When he got the results, he noticed a mysterious family member with a close enough genetic match to be a half-sibling! Sure enough, they discovered a half-sister they never knew about, conceived during a summertime fling between their father and a young woman before their father met their mother. The child had been placed with an adoption agency, had grown up in a loving home, and had known since she was small that she was adopted. The father knew the child had been born and that she was adopted, but he never shared his secret with his wife or his children.
3. A current client, has discovered she is one of more than 20 children conceived by sperm donations from one man. He is still alive and living in the Midwest. They are still discovering more children, and the discoveries are most prolific in the first few months of the year as people submit results from DNA test kits they received for Christmas!!
4. The previous three stories have all been personally related to me by family members, but I haven’t and won’t disclose their identities. This last one, however, involves a former Jackson area resident who has gone public with his story. Tom Ramsey is married and has three adult children. In January of this year, one of his sons was linked to a new sibling through 23andMe. Tom asked for more information and learned she was born before Tom met his wife. Tom, Kitty, and their sons arranged to meet their new daughter and sister and her husband the following weekend.
What Does All of This Have to Do with Estate Planning?
Frankly, science has gotten ahead of the law, as frequently happens. Some states have addressed the questions that have arisen because of the ease with which one can now find unknown family members they would likely have never discovered in previous years. Until these questions are well-settled, effective estate planners should do everything possible to avoid unnecessary complications. Even a relatively simple estate plan can go a long way. That’s because if you die with no plan in place, no will or trust, it falls to the courts to determine who will inherit from you. Those people are called your “heirs at law,” and they are defined in a public hearing after a summons is published in your local newspaper. Under Mississippi law, “illegitimate” children may inherit from a biological parent. So, might children that have even been legally surrendered for adoption many years ago. A Mississippi appellate court has held in a recent child custody case that a sperm donor is not considered a “parent.” Unfortunately, that case did not specifically address the issue of inheritance. It might logically be assumed that inheritance would not be permitted, but that is not certain.
Our Kyle-Wynn & Associates attorneys are here to help you do the planning that will control with certainty who will inherit from you.
