INHERITANCE RIGHTS OF AN ADOPTED CHILD IN NIGERIA

Abstract

What is an adopted child's legal standing? What legal justification does he or she have for inheriting in the adoptive parents’estate? Can the circumstance of his adoption extinguish his/her inheritance right from the estate of his/her family of origin? Can the inheritance right of an adopted child be sustained if bequeathed property in a Will? This paper aims to respond to the questions raised above. These policies and frameworks are analysed in this paper which adopts doctrinal methodology. The paper examined Nigeria's present legal system concerning an adopted child's right to inherit and painstakingly x-ray the normative standards on the inheritance right of adopted children in selected jurisdictions. This paper finds that in the Nigerian context, there still exists discrimination and conflicting provisions as it relates to the inheritance rights of an adopted child, particularly under the Nigerian customary law system. Also, the legal justification for an adopted child inheriting from the estate of his natural parent is unclear and calls for enlightenment on the options for wills in making provisions for adopted children in order to address the discrimination, conflicting provisions and limitations of customary law as well as the need for further research on this subject.