• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Our Firm
    • About Our Firm
    • Attorney and Staff Profiles
  • Services
    • Asset Protection & Business Planning
    • Elder Law & Medicaid Services
    • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
    • Estate Planning Services
    • Family-Owned Businesses & Farms
    • Legacy Planning
    • LGBTQ Estate Planning
    • Pet Planning
    • SECURE Act
    • Special Needs Planning
    • Trust Administration & Probate
  • Elder Law
    • Coping With Alzheimer’s
    • Emergency Medicaid & Nursing Home Planning
    • Guardianship & Conservatorship
    • Hospice Care
    • Medicaid Planning
    • Veterans Benefits
  • Seminars
  • Areas We Serve
    • Ballwin
    • Chesterfield
    • Clayton
    • Creve Couer
    • Des Peres
    • Edwardsville
    • Fenton
    • Glen Carbon
    • Glendale
    • Kirkwood
    • Maryland Heights
    • Oakland
    • Sappington
    • St. Louis
    • Sunset Hills
    • Valley Park
    • Webster Groves
  • Resources
    • Asset Protection Worksheet
    • Elder Law Resources
      • Chesterfield Elder Law
      • Fenton Elder Law
      • Kirkwood Elder Law
      • Sunset Hills Elder Law
      • St. Louis Elder Law
      • St. Peters Elder Law
      • Webster Groves Elder Law
    • FREE Estate Planning Seminars
    • FREE Estate Planning Worksheet
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Estate Planning
      • Families Without an Estate Plan
      • Legacy Wealth Planning
      • LGBTQ Estate Planning
      • Trust Administration & Probate
    • Is Your Estate Plan Outdated?
    • Medicaid Resources
    • Multimedia
    • Newsletters
    • Presentations
    • Pre Consultation Form
    • Probate Checklist
    • Probate Resources
    • Retirement Planning Checklist
    • Special Reports
      • Advanced Estate Planning
      • Basic Estate Planning
      • Estate Planning For Niches
      • Trust Administration
  • Reviews
    • Our Reviews
    • Review Us
  • Blog
  • Contact Us

Amen, Gantner & Capriano | Your Estate Matters, L.L.C.

St. Louis Estate Planning & Elder Law Attorneys

Logo
CONNECT WITH US TODAY (314) 966-8077
ATTEND A FREE WEBINAR
Home / Inheritance / What Inheritance Rights Does a Child Conceived after Death Have?

What Inheritance Rights Does a Child Conceived after Death Have?

December 12, 2015

Inheritance

Rights Does a Child Conceived after Death Not all that long ago, an infertile couple’s only real option for becoming parents was to adopt a child. Not so today. Thanks to advances in medicine and technology, seemingly infertile couples now have a wide variety of potential pathways to parenthood. Though the link between infertility treatments and estate planning may not seem obvious at first glance, it is there. One fertility related estate planning question the law has been struggling with in recent years is “What inheritance rights does a child conceived after death have?”

Most issues related to wills, trusts, and estates are governed by state law. For example, state laws determine who will inherit through intestate succession when a decedent dies without leaving behind a valid Last Will and Testament. Although the intestate succession laws vary somewhat from one state to the next, almost all states give priority to a spouse and/or children when deciding who will inherit an intestate estate. What about a child who is born after the death of the decedent? Posthumously born children do not create a legal issue; however, posthumously conceived children do.

In the State of Missouri, Missouri Revised Statute 474.050 governs the issue of after born children, reading as follows:

“All posthumous children, or descendants, of the intestate shall inherit in like manner, as if born in the lifetime of the intestate; but no right of inheritance accrues to any person other than the children or descendants of the intestate, unless they are born and capable in law to take as heirs at the time of the intestate’s death.”The statute, however, was intended to govern situations where a child was conceived during the lifetime of the decedent yet born after death. Today, technology allows an embryo to be frozen for months, even years, before implantation and subsequent birth. Therefore, a child could be both born and conceived after death. Although Missouri is not one of them, some states have passed laws limiting the amount of time after death that a posthumously born child can inherit. In California, for instance, a posthumously conceived child does have inheritance rights but only if the child is in utero within two years after death and the decedent consented in writing to a posthumously conceived child.

A decades old case in Missouri, Vogel v. Mercantile Trust Company National Association 511 S.W.2d 784 (Mo. 1974), has heretofore been used to define posthumous children. In that case, posthumous children were defined as those “conceived during the lifetime of the testator and born thereafter.” Using that definition, posthumously conceived child would not be entitled to inherit; however, the Missouri high court has not reviewed the issue nor has legislation directly addressing the question been enacted, leaving the question without a concrete answer in the State of Missouri.

If you have additional questions or concerns about the inheritance rights of a child born and/or conceived after birth contact the experienced Missouri estate planning attorneys at Amen, Gantner & Capriano, Your Estate Matters, LLC by calling (314) 966-8077 to schedule an appointment.

 

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Charlie Amen
Latest posts by Charlie Amen (see all)
  • Estate Planning Reduces Stress During High Anxiety Times - December 16, 2021
  • Changing “Irrevocable” Trusts Through Use of a Trust Protector - November 4, 2021
  • Advantages of Using a “Grantor Trust” in Planning - October 14, 2021

Filed Under: Inheritance

Other Articles You May Find Useful

Missouri inheritance tax
What You Need to Know about Missouri Inheritance Tax
Amen, Gantner & Capriano | Your Estate Matters, L.L.C.
Can You Disclaim an Inheritance
Amen, Gantner & Capriano | Your Estate Matters, L.L.C.
Is The Inheritance You Leave Your Kids Taxable?
Amen, Gantner & Capriano | Your Estate Matters, L.L.C.
Will Your Beneficiaries Blow Their Inheritance?
Amen, Gantner & Capriano | Your Estate Matters, L.L.C.
Free Report: How Long Will It Take to Actually Receive Inheritance?
Amen, Gantner & Capriano | Your Estate Matters, L.L.C.
How Do I Know What My Inheritance Is?

Primary Sidebar

Download our free Estate Planning Worksheet

There's a lot that goes into setting up a comprehensive estate plan, but with our FREE worksheet, you'll be one step closer to getting yourself and your family on the path to a secure and happy future.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • youtube

Blog Subscription

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Where We Are

Amen, Gantner & Capriano
10733 Sunset Office Drive, Suite 425
St. Louis, MO 63127

See Larger MapGet directions

Office Hours

Monday8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday8:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Map

map for Amen, Gantner & Capriano Your Estate Matters office
  • Advantages of Working With Our Firm
  • About The American Academy
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Contact Us

Footer

Connect to us

  • Facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • youtube
footer-logo

© 2022 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.

Amen, Gantner & Capriano,
Your Estate Matters, LLC

Attorney Advertisement