Disowning of an adult child

[Corene]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WI, however this issue may cross several states

I am a 37 year old, who currently resides in WI. My parents (married in WI) were divorced in PA about 1974. My father had visitation rights per the divorce decree and to my knowledge, any child support obligation he had was paid or settled between he and my mother.

When I turned 13, my father and I had a falling out. My memory is a little hazy of this event. I may have said that I no longer wished to see him for his weekly visits, I may not have. The result of this argument was that I no longer saw my father and have not had any contact with him since.

I have recently come into the knowledge that my father disowned me when I turned 21 on the grounds of alienation of affection. I do not know what state this might have been filed in as he moved around quite a lot. I was never sent any notification of this nor was my mother.

He is currently residing in NC, which is where I suspect he will pass away.

My question is more of a matter of law regarding the disowning of adult child under the grounds that I noted.

Is there an actual filling of this disownment decree?

What are the ramifications for me if such a decree exists?

If there are any ramifications, what are my options to contest as I was not present to defend myself against his allegations?

I am assuming that I no longer have any claim to his estate nor am I listed as his next of kin. Is this assumption correct?

Does this protect me from having to be responsible for any debts or claims which his estate can not satisfy?

He is currently drawing from his own social security as well as benefits from his duty in the Coast Guard? Does this disownment from any death benefit to which I am entitled (I doubt that I am as I am an adult)

Does this officially change my birth certificate (my birth certificate was issued in WI)?

Thank you in advance for your assistance and advice

 

[Antigone*]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WI, however this issue may cross several states

I am a 37 year old, who currently resides in WI. My parents (married in WI) were divorced in PA about 1974. My father had visitation rights per the divorce decree and to my knowledge, any child support obligation he had was paid or settled between he and my mother.

When I turned 13, my father and I had a falling out. My memory is a little hazy of this event. I may have said that I no longer wished to see him for his weekly visits, I may not have. The result of this argument was that I no longer saw my father and have not had any contact with him since.

I have recently come into the knowledge that my father disowned me when I turned 21 on the grounds of alienation of affection. I do not know what state this might have been filed in as he moved around quite a lot. I was never sent any notification of this nor was my mother.

He is currently residing in NC, which is where I suspect he will pass away.

My question is more of a matter of law regarding the disowning of adult child under the grounds that I noted.

Is there an actual filling of this disownment decree?

What are the ramifications for me if such a decree exists?

If there are any ramifications, what are my options to contest as I was not present to defend myself against his allegations?

I am assuming that I no longer have any claim to his estate nor am I listed as his next of kin. Is this assumption correct?

Does this protect me from having to be responsible for any debts or claims which his estate can not satisfy?

He is currently drawing from his own social security as well as benefits from his duty in the Coast Guard? Does this disownment from any death benefit to which I am entitled (I doubt that I am as I am an adult)

Does this officially change my birth certificate (my birth certificate was issued in WI)?

What makes you think you are entitled to any of his assets at all. It has been almost 25 years and you've had not contact.

You will never ever be responsible for any of his debts. You won't know what is in his estate unless he makes it your business.

 

[Corene]

I am not assuming that I have any claim to his estate. And yes, I do realize how much time has passed, thank you. My question was more based on the fact that regardless of what is his will, I am his only heir. Perhaps my thinking is incorrect, but under certain circumstances, having this distinction may come with an option of a claim as well as certain responsibilities.

To be clear, there is nothing in his estate that I want. My questions are born out of concern that there is a judgement filed against my is some state as well as any responsibility that I will be held accountable for his debts or affairs when he dies.

And if you have any other advice that does not come with a prejudice attached, I would be very eager to hear it.

 

[Antigone*]

I am not assuming that I have any claim to his estate. And yes, I do realize how much time has passed, thank you. My question was more based on the fact that regardless of what is his will, I am his only heir. Perhaps my thinking is incorrect, but under certain circumstances, having this distinction may come with an option of a claim as well as certain responsibilities.

To be clear, there is nothing in his estate that I want. My questions are born out of concern that there is a judgement filed against my is some state as well as any responsibility that I will be held accountable for his debts or affairs when he dies.

And if you have any other advice that does not come with a prejudice attached, I would be very eager to hear it.

As I have already stated:

You will never ever be responsible for any of his debts.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WI, however this issue may cross several states

I am a 37 year old, who currently resides in WI. My parents (married in WI) were divorced in PA about 1974. My father had visitation rights per the divorce decree and to my knowledge, any child support obligation he had was paid or settled between he and my mother.

When I turned 13, my father and I had a falling out. My memory is a little hazy of this event. I may have said that I no longer wished to see him for his weekly visits, I may not have. The result of this argument was that I no longer saw my father and have not had any contact with him since.

I have recently come into the knowledge that my father disowned me when I turned 21 on the grounds of alienation of affection. I do not know what state this might have been filed in as he moved around quite a lot. I was never sent any notification of this nor was my mother.

He is currently residing in NC, which is where I suspect he will pass away.

My question is more of a matter of law regarding the disowning of adult child under the grounds that I noted.

Is there an actual filling of this disownment decree?

What are the ramifications for me if such a decree exists?

If there are any ramifications, what are my options to contest as I was not present to defend myself against his allegations?

There is no such decree. What that means is that he made a will and specifically cut you out of any inheritance from him.

I am assuming that I no longer have any claim to his estate nor am I listed as his next of kin. Is this assumption correct?

Well, legally you would still be his next of kin if he did not remarry and have other children, but his will could also direct that someone else be responsible for making next of kin type decisions if he were incapacitated etc.

Does this protect me from having to be responsible for any debts or claims which his estate can not satisfy?

Adult children are NEVER responsible for debts that their parent's estate cannot satisfy.

He is currently drawing from his own social security as well as benefits from his duty in the Coast Guard? Does this disownment from any death benefit to which I am entitled (I doubt that I am as I am an adult)

If there are death benefits where he could name a beneficiary, then he could have named someone other than you. If there are any automatic death benefits (which, as you, I doubt) he would have no control over that.

Does this officially change my birth certificate (my birth certificate was issued in WI)?

Thank you in advance for your assistance and advice

No, it does not change your birth certificate in any way.

Again, as I stated above, disowning simply means that he has made a will and has specifically cut you out of it.

 

[mistoffolees]

My question was more based on the fact that regardless of what is his will, I am his only heir. Perhaps my thinking is incorrect, but under certain circumstances, having this distinction may come with an option of a claim as well as certain responsibilities.

You are wrong. If he was a will, he can give you exactly zero. He doesn't need to legally disown you.

If there's no will, the laws of intestate succession apply:
http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Elder-Law/North-Carolina/intestate-succession-laws.html

In theory, I guess there might be a way to legally disown you so that you are not entitled to anything by intestate succession, but I've never heard of it. It's undoubtedly easier just to write a will and leave you out of it.

To be clear, there is nothing in his estate that I want. My questions are born out of concern that there is a judgement filed against my is some state as well as any responsibility that I will be held accountable for his debts or affairs when he dies.

No, you will not be held accountable for any of his debts when he dies. (Unless you co-signed or guaranteed something which doesn't seem likely given the history).

Now for some gratuitous advice. You haven't had contact with your father for years due to a falling out which you can't even remember and harsh words that are 25 years old. Maybe your time would be better spent mending some bridges rather than worrying about whether you're going to get something (either assets OR debt) from his estate.

 

[Corene]

Now for some gratuitous advice. You haven't had contact with your father for years due to a falling out which you can't even remember and harsh words that are 25 years old. Maybe your time would be better spent mending some bridges rather than worrying about whether you're going to get something (either assets OR debt) from his estate.

Believe me, that has been tried. How this came about was that after so much non-contact between myself and anyone on his side of the family, he contacted my mother by phone and asked for my mailing address, stating that he had some things to send to me. When the package arrived, it contained old photos of me, my parents' wedding album, and some old school papers of mine that he had been keeping. There was a brief note enclosed, stating that there were several other items that had long since been damaged in a storm and those things of my mother's (wedding album, etc) I could do with as I wished. I sent him a letter back, thanking him for the package. I indicated that I wasn't sure that prompted him sending me that package but that I will find a safe place for these belongings.

I received an angry letter back from him, explaining that he was dying and that when he does pass, there will be no trace of either me or my mother among his things. There were some other very choice words which I will not repeat. He also enclosed a CD that contained an autobiography of his life. It skips over getting married to my mother as well as my birth. And my mother and I are mentioned only as little more than a footnote regarding his divorce and the ending of my relationship with him. In this is where I learned of my disownment.

My reply to him was, in short, that I was very sorry that he had chosen this way to put his affairs to rest and that if he wanted to open a more constructive dialog to settle whatever old grudges he was still harboring, then I would be more than happy to participate.

Please understand that this is an exchanged that he started. I never sought any recontact with him. The need to have some kind of father/daughter relationship with this man has long since gone away. My offer to him is only out of whatever desire he might have to have some peace about things rather than leave the Earth bitter and hate-filled about things.

Perhaps my questions sounded as though I wanted to find a way to stake some kind of claim on his estate. Believe me, I would not take anything even if it was offered. My questions were more to find out what the process of disowning entailed legally and to protect myself and my record.

LdiJ and mistoffolees, thank you both for the information. It was exactly what I needed.

 

[Tezzy]

Adult children are NEVER responsible for debts that their parent's estate cannot satisfy.

Actually, this is incorrect. 30 states have Filial supprt laws, including NC. Some states are using these old laws to force adult children to pay for nursing home care for their indigent parents.

NC General Statute 14-326.1 makes it a class 2 misdemeanor to fail to supprt a parent, if you have suffient income after reasonabley providing for your own family.