Surprise heirs

Infertility therapies are creating unprepared children, and complicating the inheritance process of lost parents.

The number of children born by artificial insemination (IVF) has doubled compared to 10 years ago. In addition to bringing joy to countless infertile families, this technique also challenges heritage inheritance laws, especially in cases where a child is conceived after a parent dies. It sounds weird, when having children after death can become a difficult situation. And the eternal problem here is still money disputes.

The rich are worried about who will inherit the property after their death, while the individuals who are plotting are taking a petition to court with the hope of gathering some inheritance money.'We will witness this activity much more exciting in the future, due to new technologies being developed' , The New York Times quoted Sharon L. Klein, Executive Director of Wilmington Trust Fund. Trust. She said more and more women in their late 20s and early 30s have frozen eggs to concentrate on their careers and wait for the proper central counsel. However, these eggs can be used to fertilize even if they never want them to be used after they die.

More and more children are born after their parents die - (Photo: Shutterstock)

The law is very clear: when a trust document does not mention this issue, children born with IVF techniques will also receive the same inheritance rights as if they were conceived by natural methods. . For example, a patient, before conducting chemotherapy for infertility, will donate eggs or sperm in the hope of having a baby later. However, in the event that this patient fails to fight the disease and does not leave a will to mention the use of eggs / sperm, the partner can take genetic material to have children. Or a couple after having children thanks to IVF decided to donate unused embryos to a woman. If they suddenly hit the real estate and waved later, the embryo-born child could ask for a share of the biological property of the biological parents, according to White & Case attorney John M.Olivieri.

In fact, the US court has received a number of cases involving children born after the biological parent has died, while many other cases have been arranged in secret. In 2007, the court in New York County issued a ruling allowing two children to be conceived - after their father died - named in the list of inheritance trusts established by his grandfather, temporarily called Martin B. , to ensure financial security for two sons and grandchildren if any. Mr. Martin B's wife, aka grandmother, shook hands with her daughter-in-law (dead husband) to claim benefits for her two grandchildren who were born later, in which one was conceived when her father died three years later, the latter was in the fifth year. And they won.

In the case of couples who want to donate extra embryos to people with infertility, American lawyers recommend that in the will, there are still frozen embryos, but children born from those embryos should not be entitled to any any property, in case of future trouble. There are still many legal issues related to 'unexpected' heirs, which can give rise to disputes if parents do not anticipate the consequences of freezing eggs and sperm.