How the De Facto Parentage Provision of the Connecticut Parentage Act May Affect Your Estate Plan

In Connecticut, it is now possible to be a legal parent to a child who is not your biological descendent or adopted child. This can be accomplished by becoming a “de facto parent.” While the de facto parentage provision of the Connecticut Parentage Act creates a new path to legal parentage, it is important to understand what it does (and does not) mean for your estate planning. 

In order to petition for de facto legal parentage, a party must be able to prove that he or she fulfills all seven of the following prongs by clear and convincing evidence:

• The petitioning person has lived with the child as a member of the child’s household for at least one year (unless there is good cause for the court to accept a shorter time period).
• The petitioning person has consistently cared for the child and has participated in decisions concerning the child’s care.
• The petitioning person has taken on the “full and permanent responsibilities” of caring for the child without any expectation of financial compensation.
• The petitioning person has held out the child as that person’s own child.
• The petitioning person has established a “bonded and dependent” relationship with the child that is parental in nature.
• An existing legal parent of the child “fostered or supported” the bonded and dependent parent-child relationship between the petitioning party and the child.
• Continuing the relationship between the petitioning person and the child is in the child’s best interests.

Importantly, such a petition can only be commenced by the person who claims to be the de facto parent of the child and must be commenced while that petitioning person is alive.  Additionally, the child must be alive and not have reached the age of eighteen at the time of filing the petition.

After a person has been successfully adjudicated a de facto parent, he or she has a legal parent status equal to that of one who has given birth to a child, adopted a child, or voluntarily acknowledged parentage of a child (previously voluntarily acknowledging paternity).  However, it is important to note that, unlike some other forms of legal parentage, de facto parentage can only be accomplished through a legal adjudication by the courts.

So, what does this mean for estate planning? Once de facto parentage has been adjudicated, it would be best to review your estate planning documents and update them if necessary. This includes not only your will and a trust if you have one, but also any beneficiary designations on life insurance or retirement accounts. It may be possible that your existing estate planning documents already align with your wishes. One of the benefits of having an estate plan is that you can include whomever you would like as a beneficiary, so the child may already be a beneficiary under your estate plan. If that is the case, it may not be necessary to update your estate planning documents.

What if your estate planning documents do not specifically include the child, but include language about any “after born or adopted children”? Generally, language is included in a will which specifies that the provisions of a will are going to apply to any children who are born or adopted after the creation of the will, and those new children will receive the same benefits as any children living on the date of the will. However, because the relationship of de facto parentage is new under the law, it is unclear whether this common provision in a will is going to apply to a child under de facto parentage. Thus, it is best to update your estate planning documents after the establishment of a de facto parentage to ensure that your documents align with your wishes, whether that be to include the child in your will or exclude the child from your will.

If de facto parentage is not legally established, this does not mean that you cannot include the child in your estate plan. As noted above, one of the benefits of having an estate plan is that you can include whomever you would like as a beneficiary. Even though you may not legally be a parent to the child, you can still provide for that child by specifically naming them in your estate plan.

If you have any questions on de facto parentage and how it may affect your estate plan, you may reach out to one of our Family Law or Trusts & Estates lawyers at Pullman & Comley, LLC to discuss your circumstances.

Danielle Erickson is an attorney in Pullman & Comley’s Trusts and Estates practice, and Stacie L. Provencher is an attorney in the firm’s Family Law practice.