Can an adopted child inherit??

DAR ES SALAAM: TANZANIAN society has a way of normalising things. We call them customs, traditions or simply the way things are done. For instance, when your sister dies and leaves behind young children, who takes responsibility? Often, it is you. When your brother passes away, his children become your responsibility too. Nobody needs to explain it. It is family. It is what we expect from one another.

Over time, however, we have become so comfortable with these arrangements that we sometimes forget there are laws governing them. We take a child into our homes, raise them, pay their school fees, provide for them and introduce them as our own. Nobody questions the relationship. After all, she is your daughter, isn’t she?

Well, perhaps socially. But what about legally?

I recently came across a family situation that raised an interesting question. A child had grown up believing that the people who raised her were her parents. She belonged to that family, shared their home and enjoyed the love and care given to every other child. However, when the question of inheritance arose, her legal position became uncertain. She had never been formally adopted.

It got me thinking. How many families understand the legal consequences of taking responsibility for another person’s child? Can a child inherit from someone who raised them? Does being called someone’s daughter automatically make you their legal heir? And what happens when the person who has been your parent all your life is no longer around?

Adoption is more than taking a child home

Under the Law of the Child Act, Cap. 13 [R.E. 2023], adoption is a legal process, not merely a family arrangement. Section 54 provides for adoption orders, while Section 64 explains their legal consequences.

Once a court grants an adoption order, the adoptive parent assumes the parental rights and responsibilities previously held by the biological parents. The child is treated as though they were born to the adoptive parent in lawful wedlock.

In simple terms, adoption changes the child’s legal relationship with their family. It is not just about who feeds you, pays your school fees or attends your graduation. It establishes a legal relationship with consequences that may last a lifetime.

So, can an adopted child inherit? The answer is YES!

Section 65(1) of the Act provides that where an adoptive parent dies without leaving a will, their property devolves as though the adopted child were their natural child. In other words, a legally adopted child has the right to inherit from their adoptive parent on intestacy.

The child does not have to prove a biological connection to the deceased. The adoption order establishes the legal relationship.

What if the adoptive parent leaves a will? Section 66 also recognises adopted children. References to the children of an adoptive parent generally include adopted children unless a contrary intention appears in the will. The provision also addresses situations where an earlier disposition failed to make provision for an adopted child.

But here is another question. Can an adopted child inherit from their biological parents as well?

Section 65(2) provides that an adopted child is not entitled to inherit from their biological parents on intestacy. This means that formal adoption changes the child’s inheritance position in relation to both families. However, a biological parent may still expressly provide for the child through a valid will.

What if the adoption was never formalised?

Now, this is where many families need to pay attention.

Imagine an aunt who raises her deceased sister’s daughter for twenty years. She provides everything a mother would provide, but never obtains an adoption order. When she dies, can the child automatically claim inheritance as her adopted daughter?

Not under Section 65(1), because that provision concerns legally adopted children.

However, this does not mean that every child raised by a relative has no legal protection. Section 3 defines a parent to include an adoptive parent and a person under whose care a child has been committed. Section 9 addresses care and parental responsibility, while Section 10 protects a child’s right to reasonable provision out of a parent’s property.

These provisions must be considered carefully alongside the facts of each case. Informal care, however long it lasts, does not automatically become a formal adoption or confer the same intestate inheritance rights as an adoption order.

Does that mean the child must simply walk away? Not necessarily. A caregiver can protect the child’s future through a valid will, lifetime property transfers or an appropriate trust arrangement. Depending on the circumstances, other applicable succession rules may also be relevant.

The lesson is simple: if you intend to make someone legally your child, do not leave the relationship to assumptions. Understand the available legal arrangements and formalise the relationship where adoption is intended.

When family traditions meet inheritance laws

Tanzania operates under a pluralistic legal system where statutory, customary and Islamic laws may become relevant in matters of succession. Consequently, the applicable inheritance rules may differ depending on the deceased and the circumstances of the estate.

This makes it even more important to understand the legal status of a child before inheritance becomes an issue. What society casually describes as ‘kutunza mtoto’ may have very different legal consequences from Adoption.

Before you call them your own, have you protected their future?

Perhaps the problem is not that families take responsibility for children who are not biologically theirs. That is something worth celebrating. The problem is assuming that because society recognises a child as yours, the law automatically recognises every legal consequence of that relationship.

Have you considered what happens to the child you have raised when you are no longer around? Have you made arrangements to protect their future? Why should a child discover that their place in a family is being questioned only when property is being distributed?

Family is not always defined by blood. Sometimes, it is defined by the people who show up, provide care and stay. But when it comes to inheritance, good intentions alone may not be enough.

Do not wait until the distribution of an estate to discover that the family relationship you celebrated for years was never legally secured.