Colorado Code
Part 1 - Intestate Succession
§ 15-11-119. Adoptee and Adoptee's Genetic Parents

(2.5) Child of a second-parent adoption. A parent-child relationship exists between an individual who is adopted by a second parent and:

Source: L. 2009: Entire section added, (HB 09-1287), ch. 310, p. 1676, § 8, effective July 1, 2010. L. 2010: (2.5)(a) and (2.5)(b) amended, (SB 10-199), ch. 374, p. 1749, § 7, effective July 1.
Cross references: For provisions relating to the time of taking effect or the provisions for transition of this code, see § 15-17-101. For other provisions on assisted reproduction and paternity, see § 19-4-106. For legal effects of a final decree of adoption, see § 19-5-211. For the legal effect of a final order of relinquishment, see § 19-5-104.
COMMENT
2008 Revisions. In 2008, this section and Section 2-118 replaced former Section 2-114(b), which provided: "(b) An adopted individual is the child of his [or her] adopting parent or parents and not of his [or her] natural parents, but adoption of a child by the spouse of either natural parent has no effect on (i) the relationship between the child and that natural parent or (ii) the right of the child or a descendant of the child to inherit from or through the other natural parent". The 2008 revisions divided the coverage of former Section 2-114(b) into two sections. Section 2-118(a) covered that part of former Section 2-114(b) that provided that an adopted individual is the child of his or her adopting parent or parents. Subsections (a) and (b) of this section covered that part of former Section 2-114(b) that provided that an adopted individual is not the child of his natural parents, but adoption of a child by the spouse of either natural parent has no effect on the relationship between the child and that natural parent or (ii) the right of the child or a descendant of the child to inherit from or through the other natural parent.
The 2008 revisions also added subsections (c), (d), and (e), which are explained below.
Defined Terms. Section 2-119 uses terms that are defined in Section 2-115.
Adoptee is defined in Section 2-115 as an individual who is adopted. The term is not limited to an individual who is adopted as a minor, but includes an individual who is adopted as an adult.
Genetic parent is defined in Section 2-115 as the child's genetic father or genetic mother. Genetic mother is defined as the woman whose egg was fertilized by the sperm of a child's genetic father. Genetic father is defined as the man whose sperm fertilized the egg of a child's genetic mother.
Relative is defined in Section 2-115 as a grandparent or a descendant of a grandparent.
Subsection (a): Parent-Child Relationship Between Adoptee and Adoptee's Genetic Parents. Subsection (a) states the general rule that a parent-child relationship does not exist between an adopted child and the child's genetic parents. This rule recognizes that an adoption severs the parent-child relationship between the adopted child and the child's genetic parents. The adoption gives the adopted child a replacement family, sometimes referred to in the case law as "a fresh start". For further elaboration of this theory, see Restatement (Third) of Property: Wills and Other Donative Transfers § 2.5(2)(A) & cmts. d & e (1999). Subsection (a) also states, however, that there are exceptions to this general rule in subsections (b) through (d).
Subsection (b): Stepchild Adopted by Stepparent. Subsection (b) continues the so-called "stepparent exception" contained in the Code since its original promulgation in 1969. When a stepparent adopts his or her stepchild, Section 2-118 provides that the adoption creates a parent-child relationship between the child and his or her adoptive stepparent. Section 2-119(b)(1) provides that a parent-child relationship continues to exist between the child and the child's genetic parent whose spouse adopted the child. Section 2-119(b)(2) provides that a parent-child relationship also continues to exist between an adopted stepchild and his or her other genetic parent (the noncustodial genetic parent) for purposes of inheritance from and through that genetic parent, but not for purposes of inheritance by the other genetic parent and his or her relatives from or through the adopted stepchild.
Example 1--Post-Widowhood Remarriage. A and B were married and had two children, X and Y. A died, and B married C. C adopted X and Y. Under subsection (b)(1), X and Y are treated as B's children and under Section 2-118(a) as C's children for all purposes of inheritance. Under subsection (b)(2), X and Y are treated as A's children for purposes of inheritance from and through A but not for purposes of inheritance from or through X or Y. Thus, if A's father, G, died intestate, survived by X and Y and by G's daughter (A's sister), S, G's heirs would be S, X, and Y. S would take half and X and Y would take one-fourth each.
Example 2--Post-Divorce Remarriage. A and B were married and had two children, X and Y. A and B got divorced, and B married C. C adopted X and Y. Under subsection (b)(1), X and Y are treated as B's children and under Section 2-118(a) as C's children for all purposes of inheritance. Under subsection (b)(2), X and Y are treated as A's children for purposes of inheritance from and through A. On the other hand, neither A nor any of A's relatives can inherit from or through X or Y.
Subsection (c): Individual Adopted by Relative of a Genetic Parent. Under subsection (c), a child who is adopted by a maternal or a paternal relative of either genetic parent, or by the spouse or surviving spouse of such a relative, remains a child of both genetic parents.
Example 3. F and M, a married couple with a four-year old child, X, were badly injured in an automobile accident. F subsequently died. M, who was in a vegetative state and on life support, was unable to care for X. Thereafter, M's sister, A, and A's husband, B, adopted X. F's father, PGF, a widower, then died intestate. Under subsection (c), X is treated as PGF's grandchild (F's child).
Subsection (d): Individual Adopted After Death of Both Genetic Parents. Usually, a post-death adoption does not remove a child from contact with the genetic families. When someone with ties to the genetic family or families adopts a child after the deaths of the child's genetic parents, even if the adoptive parent is not a relative of either genetic parent or a spouse or surviving spouse of such a relative, the child continues to be in a parent-child relationship with both genetic parents. Once a child has taken root in a family, an adoption after the death of both genetic parents is likely to be by someone chosen or approved of by the genetic family, such as a person named as guardian of the child in a deceased parent's will. In such a case, the child does not become estranged from the genetic family. Such an adoption does not "remove" the child from the families of both genetic parents. Such a child continues to be a child of both genetic parents, as well as a child of the adoptive parents.
Example 4. F and M, a married couple with a four-year-old child, X, were involved in an automobile accident that killed F and M. Neither M's parents nor F's father (F's mother had died before the accident) nor any other relative was in a position to take custody of X. X was adopted by F and M's close friends, A and B, a married couple approximately of the same ages as F and M. F's father, PGF, a widower, then died intestate. Under subsection (d), X is treated as PGF's grandchild (F's child). The result would be the same if F's or M's will appointed A and B as the guardians of the person of X, and A and B subsequently successfully petitioned to adopt X.
Subsection (e): Child of Assisted Reproduction or Gestational Child Who Is Subsequently Adopted. Subsection (e) puts a child of assisted reproduction and a gestational child on the same footing as a genetic child for purposes of this section. The results in Examples 1 through 4 would have been the same had the child in question been a child of assisted reproduction or a gestational child.