A Child Adopted After the Will: Corbett v. Stergios
A will may accurately describe a family when it is signed and leave someone out after the family changes. The issue becomes especially important when a child is born or adopted later.
Corbett v. Stergios involved a child adopted after his father made a will. The litigation also involved a foreign adoption and a treaty, so the outcome cannot be reduced to a rule that every omitted child automatically inherits.
What happened in the case?
Nicholas Stergios adopted Constantine Neonakis through a Greek court after executing his will. After Stergios died, the child’s guardian sought a share of the estate under the law protecting certain children omitted from an earlier will.
The claim was initially rejected because of a restriction involving inheritance by nonresident aliens. In Corbett v. Stergios, 381 U.S. 124 (1965), the United States Supreme Court reversed based on its interpretation of the treaty between the United States and Greece.
What happened when the case returned to Iowa?
The Iowa Supreme Court then considered an argument that recognizing the Greek adoption would violate Iowa public policy. In its September 21, 1965 decision, reported at 137 N.W.2d 266, the court rejected that argument and held the child was entitled to the share provided by Iowa law. It reversed and remanded for further proceedings.
What does Iowa’s current statute address?
Iowa Code section 633.267 concerns a child born or adopted after execution of the parent’s last will. If the child is not provided for, the statute generally supplies an intestate-equivalent share unless the will shows that the omission was intentional. The surviving spouse’s share must be taken into account.
This is not a general guarantee that every child named nowhere in a will receives an equal portion. The timing of the birth or adoption and the document’s language matter.
Section 633.223 separately addresses the inheritance effects of adoption. Family relationships should be reviewed as legal relationships, not assumed from how people describe one another at home.
What is the planning lesson?
When a child joins a family, reviewing the will can prevent uncertainty about whether old language still carries out the parent’s wishes. It is also a chance to consider guardianship, management of a minor’s inheritance, and beneficiary designations.
What stands out to me in Corbett is how many legal questions stood between the child and the claimed inheritance. Updating the documents cannot prevent every dispute, but it can make the family circumstances and the intended plan much clearer.
Tyler ThompsonAuthor