WOODALL, Justice.
Betty Ellis, as personal representative of the estate of her sister, Annie Laurie Pace, deceased, appeals from a judgment for Joshua Adam Falls West and Jacob Wayne Falls West (“the children”), by and through their adoptive mother and next friend, Agnes West, on the children's petition asserting a claim in Pace's estate. We reverse and remand with directions.
The facts are undisputed. The decedent, Annie Laurie Pace, was the maternal great-grandmother of the children, being the mother of Robert Pace, deceased, who was the father of Kelly Pace, who married Ricky Falls in 1990. In April 1993, Kelly Pace Falls died, survived by her husband and the children. On November 16, 1995, the children were adopted by their paternal grandmother, Agnes West, and her husband, Albert West, the children's step grandfather.
Annie Laurie Pace died intestate on July 25, 2005, and letters of administration were issued to her sister, Betty Ellis. Subsequently, the children, by and through Agnes West, filed in the probate court a “petition for determination of heirship,” alleging that they are the “only surviving lineal descendants of Annie Laurie Pace.” The petition sought an “order determining that [the children] are the heirs and next-of-kin of [Annie Pace], and are entitled to inherit the estate of [Annie Pace].” The proceeding was removed to the Jefferson Circuit Court.
On July 5, 2006, Ellis moved for a summary judgment, arguing that the children's petition had no merit, based on Ala. Code 1975, § 43-8-48(1), which provides:
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“If, for purposes of intestate succession, a relationship of parent and child must be established to determine succession by, through, or from a person:
“(1) An adopted person is the child of an adopting parent and not of the natural parents except that adoption of a child by the spouse of a natural parent has no effect on the right of the child to inherit from or through either natural parent....”
(Emphasis added.)
On August 30, 2006, the trial court entered an order granting the children's petition. The order stated, in pertinent part:
“The court hereby finds that the undisputed facts show that Kelly Pace Falls, the biological mother of [the children], died prior to the adoption of the children; therefore, there was no termination of parental rights nor relinquishment of parental rights by Kelly Pace Falls. The minor children were adopted by their paternal grandmother, Agnes West and paternal step- grandfather, Albert West, following the death of Kelly Pace Falls. The biological father of the children consented to the adoption of the children by his mother and stepfather.
“The court finds further that § 43-8-48, Code of Alabama, is not to be so strictly construed as to disinherit these minor children from the biological mother's grandmother. There are no reported Alabama cases applying strict construction of this statute such that these children would not inherit under the law of intestate succession under the facts of this case. Their deceased biological mother, the granddaughter of the decedent, Annie Laurie Pace, did not consent to the adoption of her children, nor were her parental rights terminated. Neither does this court provide for such a result.”
(Emphasis added.)
Subsequently, Ellis appealed. On appeal, Ellis contends that the trial court failed to apply § 43-8-48 according to its plain meaning, and that it erred in failing to do so.
Our resolution of this dispute is governed by well-established principles of statutory construction and separation of powers. It is axiomatic that “ ‘[w]ords used in a statute must be given their natural, plain, ordinary, and commonly understood meaning, and where plain language is used a court is bound to interpret that language to mean exactly what it says.’ ” University of South Alabama v. Progressive Ins. Co., 904 So.2d 1242, 1246 (Ala.2004) (quoting IMED Corp. v. Systems Eng'g Assocs. Corp., 602 So.2d 344, 346 (Ala.1992)) (emphasis added). Moreover, “ ‘[i]f the language of the statute is unambiguous, then there is no room for judicial construction and the clearly expressed intent of the legislature must be given effect.’ ” Id. (emphasis added).
We see no ambiguity in § 43-8-48(1). It clearly states that an adopted child is not the child of its natural parents “for purposes of intestate succession.” The single exception is where the adoptive parent is “spouse of a natural parent.” It is undisputed that the exception does not apply in this case. The children urge this Court to disregard the clear statutory directive and engage in a labored public- policy discussion, with a view to integrating the probate code with the adoption code, and to affirm the judgment on that basis. Children's brief, at 10-17. This, we may not do.
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“‘[Section] 43 of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901 mandates the separation of judicial power from legislative power and condemns the usurpation of the power of one branch of government by the other.’ ” Sears Termite & Pest Control, Inc. v. Robinson, 883 So.2d 153, 157 (Ala.2003) (quoting Ex parte Thicklin, 824 So.2d 723, 732 (Ala.2002)). “ ‘The authority to declare public policy is reserved to the Legislature, subject to limits imposed by the Constitution.’ ” Id. (emphasis added). SeeRogers v. City of Mobile, 277 Ala. 261, 281, 169 So.2d 282, 302 (1964); Almon v. Morgan County, 245 Ala. 241, 245, 16 So.2d 511, 514 (1944) (“[T]he Legislature prescribes the State's policy; the courts do not.”).
“Our laws of descent and distributions are of statutory creation, and ... the status of parent and child has always influenced legislative action in determining what shall become of the property of those who die intestate....” Prince v. Prince, 188 Ala. 559, 560, 66 So. 27, 28 (1914) (emphasis added). See also Woodliff v. Dunlap, 187 Ala. 255, 259, 65 So. 936, 938 (1914) (“[T]he subjects of descent and distribution are of statutory control....”).
The legislature has unambiguously declared it to be the policy of this State that, except in one instance immaterial to this case, an adoption severs a child from its natural lineage for purposes of intestate succession. The wisdom or folly of that declaration is of no legitimate concern to the judiciary. Alabama State Fed'n of Labor v. McAdory, 246 Ala. 1, 9, 18 So.2d 810, 815 (1944). The judiciary's duty is merely to enforce the policy as declared in § 43-8-48(1).
For these reasons, the judgment of the trial court is reversed, and this cause is remanded with directions to enter a judgment in favor of Ellis.
Right to inherit from biological parent retained after adoption
In some jurisdictions, the adopted child may retain the right to inherit from his or her biological parents. However, as the next case indicates, that right may be impacted by subsequent adoptions.
In re Estate of Moore, 25 P3d 305 (Oklahoma 2001)
BUETTNER, J.
Two children were adopted by George and Sylvia Moore. The couple divorced. After Sylvia Moore's marriage to Ronald Fore, George Moore relinquished his parental rights over the two children, paving the way for Fore's adoption of them. George Moore later died, leaving his estate to his mother, Francis Eugenia Moore. Francis Eugenia Moore subsequently died intestate. The trial court awarded her estate to the two children who had been adopted by George Moore and later adopted by Fore. We hold that children may inherit through intestate succession through their natural parents and their adoptive parents, but that when there are successive adoptions, the last adoption precludes rights of inheritance through intestate succession through previous adoptive parents. The facts in this case were stipulated:
1. Sylvia R. Fore is the adoptive mother of Wesley Jerome Fore, born January 26, 1965, and Christopher Merrell Fore, born September 23, 1965.
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2. Sylvia R. Fore married George Clifford Moore June 16, 1962.
3. George Clifford Moore is the son of the Decedent, Francis Eugenia Moore and Clifford W. Moore, also deceased.
4. George Clifford Moore and Sylvia R. Fore adopted Christopher Fore and Wesley Fore shortly after the births of said children in adoption proceedings in Orleans Parish, Louisiana.
5. Sylvia R. Fore and George Clifford Moore were divorced by Decree of Divorce entered on January 31, 1967 by the District Court of Carter County, Oklahoma, in Case No. D-4344.
6. Sylvia R. Fore, subsequent to her divorce from George Clifford Moore, married Ronald Wilson Fore on or about December 31, 1969.
7. On May 7, 1970, by Decree of Adoption entered by the District Court of Carter County, Oklahoma, Ronald Wilson Fore, husband of Sylvia R. Fore, adopted Christopher Fore and Wesley Fore, in Case No. A-70-18.
8. The estate of George Clifford Moore was probated in the District Court of Kay County, Oklahoma, Case No. P-91-141. By Decree of Distribution dated October 13, 1992, the District Court of Kay County, Oklahoma distributed to Francis Eugenia Moore the entire estate of George Clifford Moore.
9. Francis Eugenia Moore died intestate on September 8, 1999 a resident of Stillwater, Payne County, Oklahoma.
The issue for the trial court, and for the appellate court, was whether “an adopted child may inherit from an adoptive parent whose parental rights are relinquished and terminated when said child has been subsequently adopted by a third party.” The trial court relied on 10 O.S. Supp.1995 § 7006- 1.3(A), which states that termination of parental rights does not affect the right of the child to inherit from the parent; 10 O.S. Supp.1998 § 7505-6.5, which abolished differences between natural and adopted children; and finally relied on Matter of the Estate of Flowers, 1993 OK 19, 848 P.2d 1146, which held that pursuant to the plain language of the statute, that termination of parental rights does not affect the right of the child to inherit from the parent.
“Issues of law are reviewable by a de novo standard and an appellate court claims for itself plenary independent and non-deferential authority to reexamine a trial court's legal rulings.” Kluver v. Weatherford Hospital Authority, 1993 OK 85, 859 P.2d 1081, 1084.
We note first that the “right of an adopted child to inherit is decided by the law in force at the death of the testatrix/testator not the date of adoption.” Flowers, Id. at 1151. In this case, the law in effect September 8, 1999, is the law to apply.
Despite subsequent amendments, 10 O.S. Supp.1995 § 7006-1.3 has consistently stated that termination of parental rights does not “in any way affect the right of the child to inherit from the parent.” Matter of the Estate of Flowers, 1993 OK 19, 848 P.2d 1146, 1151. This statement is consistent with the laws of descent and distribution, as well as those concerning adoption.
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With respect to intestate succession, “[i]f the decedent leave no surviving husband or wife, but leaves issue, the whole estate goes to such issue,....” A child adopted away from his natural parents remains “issue.” Citing 1 Am.Jur. 656, § 57, the court in Stark v. Watson, 1961 OK 17, 359 P.2d 191, 193 stated:
Consanguinity is so fundamental in Statutes of Descent and Distribution that it may only be ignored by construction when courts are forced so to do, either by the express terms of the statute or by inexorable implication. An adopted child is, in a legal sense the child both of its natural and of its adopting parents, and is not, because of the adoption, deprived of its rights of inheritance from its natural parents, unless the statute expressly so provides.
The Starks court then held that Oklahoma has “no statutory provisions limiting an adopted child's
statutory rights to inherit from its natural parent.” Id. The effect of a final decree of adoption gives the adopted child and adoptive parents rights to inherit through each other in accordance with the laws of descent and distribution, but there is no excluding of the child's right to inherit from his natural parent. 10 O.S. Supp.1998 § 7505-6.5.
However, a subsequent adoption will terminate any inheritance rights a child might have had from a previous adoption. In In re Talley's Estate, 1941 OK 1, 109 P.2d 495, a teen-age boy was adopted by the Talleys. When the boy was nineteen, he was adopted by his natural father. In holding that the boy could not inherit from the Talleys' estate (the first adoptive family), the court stated:
neither in theory, practice nor common sense was petitioner the adopted son of his first adoptive parents after his second adoption. Having lost that relationship (a thing which by parallel he could not entirely do, at least as to blood, as to his natural parent) there was no longer any predicate upon which to base the conclusion that he would thereafter inherit from his first adoptive parents the same as if he had been their natural son. Id. at 498.
We hold that a child may inherit through his natural parents, even after he is adopted away from his natural family. And although an adopted child and adoptive parents enjoy all the rights of descent and distribution as if they were biological parents and child, a subsequent adoption will cut off any right the previous adoption might have conferred on either. If the rule in Talley's case is to be changed, it will be up to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
For these reasons, we reverse the order of the trial court and remand the matter with directions to proceed in a manner consistent with this opinion.
In re Estate of Wulf, 167 N.W.2d 181 (Neb. 1969)
NEWTON, J.
This is an appeal from an order determining heirship in an intestate estate. The question presented is whether or not an adopted child remains an heir of a natural parent who died subsequent to the adoption proceeding. The trial court adjudged that an adopted child may inherit from her natural parents notwithstanding the adoption. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.
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Fred Wulf died intestate April 30, 1967, a resident of Washington County, Nebraska. He was the father of four children. Two of his children, Freddie Wulf and Anna Marie Wulf, were the issue of his first marriage. The remaining children, Eggert Wulf and Earl Wulf, were the issue of his second marriage. As an infant, Anna Marie Wulf, during the last illness of her mother, was placed in the care of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Reeh, Mrs. Reeh being a sister of Fred Wulf. She was ultimately adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Reeh and subsequently married, her present name being Anna Marie Ibsen. Throughout his lifetime, her father, Fred Wulf, maintained close contact with his daughter. Her adoptive father, Carl Reeh, died testate and she shared in his estate. Subsequently the adoptive mother, Mrs. Carl Reeh, died intestate and Anna Marie Ibsen inherited the remaining estate of her parents by adoption.
Adoption was unknown to the common law, is a creature of statute, and rights accruing or sacrificed by reason of adoption are to be determined by reference to the statutes of the state having jurisdiction. There are certain general rules on the subject which are almost uniformly recognized. ‘Consanguinity is fundamental in statutes of descent and distribution, and the right of a child to inherit from his natural parents or to share in the intestate personalty of their estates is affected by the legal adoption of the child by another only to the extent that such rights are taken away or limited by the terms of the applicable statutes of adoption and descent and distribution, or by necessary implication therefrom. To state the rule another way, an adopted child is, in a legal sense, the child both of its natural and of its adopting parents, and is not, because of the adoption, deprived of its right of inheritance from its natural parents, unless the statute expressly so provides.’ The statutes of the various states pertaining to adoption and the position in which the parties are left subsequent to adoption vary greatly. In some, the right of the adopted child to inherit from its natural parents is specifically preserved. In others, this right is specifically barred. In many others, the statutes do not pass upon the subject by specific language and such statutes remain subject to interpretation. This appears to be true with reference to the Uniform Adoption Code which has been adopted by the State of Oklahoma. In Stark v. Watson (Okl.), 359 P.2d 191, it was held that the Uniform Adoption Code did not reveal a legislative intent to destroy the rights of an adopted child to inherit from its natural parents. Ordinarily, ‘A statute which includes as a principal or dominant feature the establishing of the child as an heir of the adopting parent, without making reference to the inheritance from natural parents, is not likely to be construed as depriving the child of that inheritance.’
The statutes of Nebraska do not specifically refer to this question of inheritance by an adopted child from its natural parents. Nevertheless, it would appear that the legislative intent is reasonably clear. The Nebraska statutes provide: ‘After a decree of adoption is entered, the usual relation of parent and child and all the rights, duties and other legal consequences of the natural relation of child and parent shall thereafter exist between such adopted child and the person or persons adopting such child and his, her or their kindred.’ Section 43-110, R.R.S.1943. ‘Except as provided in section 43- 106.01, after a decree of adoption has been entered, the natural parents of the adopted child shall be relieved of all parental duties toward and all responsibilities for such child and have no rights over such adopted child or to his or her property by descent and distribution.’ Section 43-111, R.R.S.1943. ‘When a child shall have been relinquished by written instrument, as provided by sections 43-104 and 43-106, to the Department of Public Welfare or to a licensed child placement agency and the agency has, in writing, accepted full responsibility for the child, the person so relinquishing shall be relieved of all parental duties toward and all responsibilities for such child and have no rights over such child. Nothing contained in this section shall impair the right of such child
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to inherit.’ (Emphasis supplied.) Section 43-106.01, R.R.S.1943.
It will be noted that although all rights of the natural parent over his or her adopted child, including the right to inherit from such child, are clearly barred by the statute, the statute does not likewise bar the right of the adopted child to inherit from its natural parents. Since the Legislature here dealt in part with the inheritable rights of the parties concerned and specifically outlined them in part, the failure to restrict the right of the child to inherit from its natural parents cannot be deemed an oversight but rather an act evidencing the legislative intent to preserve this right in the child. This legislative intent is even more clearly evidenced by the language contained in section 43-106.01, R.R.S.1943, which provides in substance that a child who has been relinquished for adoption to the