Publication Date
2009
Abstract
In 2007, the Georgia legislature amended its intestacy laws to prohibit a parent, who had abandoned a minor child, from inheriting through that minor child's intestate estate. Many states have adopted similar abandonment provisions,but very few of those states limit their provisions to only intestate decedents who die as minors, as Georgia does. Georgia's approach poses a distinct problem: deadbeat parents are rewarded financially-despite their failure to meet parental obligations-if their abandoned children die intestate at age eighteen or older and predecease their parents. This Note seeks to solve this problem and proposes amending Georgia's intestacy laws by removing the word "minor"from the abandonment provision. This proposed amendment is both necessary and desirable in order to prevent deadbeat parents from reaping the pecuniary rewards of inheriting from their adult intestate children. The proposed amended statute, which has already been adopted by most other states, is the best approach because it reflects sound public policy in favor of the interests of abandoned children and effectuates the intent of most adult intestate decedents whose parents had abandoned them.
Recommended Citation
Davis, Theresa L.
(2009)
"Not Just for Kids: Why Georgia's Statutory Disinheritance of Deadbeat Parents Should Extend to Intestate Adults,"
Georgia Law Review: Vol. 43:
No.
3, Article 5.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/glr/vol43/iss3/5