Succession in adopted and natural children: a legal analysis

The issue of legal succession is a topic that involves the protection of the rights of children, whether they are biological, adopted, or children of same-sex couples. In Italy, as in many other countries, the laws related to succession are fundamental to ensure that, in the event of a parent's death, children have the right to inherit assets and property. However, the legal treatment of succession can vary significantly depending on the nature of the family bond: biological, adoptive, or that present in a same-sex couple.

Biological children and succession

Biological children are those born from a biological link between the parents. In Italy, legislation establishes that biological children, once recognized by one or both parents, have the same inheritance rights as legitimate children (born within marriage). This principle of equality between biological and legitimate children was established by the 1975 family law reform, which profoundly changed the existing legislation.
In the event of the biological parent's death, the biological child has the right to a share of the inheritance, calculated according to the same methods provided for legitimate children. The portion entitled to the biological child may vary depending on the presence or absence of other relatives (such as the spouse or other children), but Italian law establishes that children, whether biological or legitimate, have the right to a portion of the estate.

Adopted children and succession

The issue of succession for adopted children is delicate and depends on the type of adoption carried out. In Italy, there are two types of adoption: legitimating adoption and simple adoption.

• Legitimating adoption: In the case of legitimating adoption, the adopted child acquires the status of a biological child, with all the rights that derive from it, including inheritance rights. Legitimating adoption involves integrating the adopted child into the family nucleus as if born from that couple, with full inheritance rights. Therefore, in the event of the death of one of the adoptive parents, the adopted child has the right to inherit as if they were a biological child.
• Simple adoption: In the case of simple adoption, the adopted child does not fully acquire inheritance rights toward the adoptive parents but retains rights with respect to their biological parents. This means that, although treated as a child of the adoptive couple in terms of parental responsibility, the adopted child does not have the same inheritance rights toward those adoptive parents.

Succession in same-sex couples

Same-sex couples, until relatively recently, did not enjoy the same legal rights as heterosexual couples in Italy, particularly regarding marriage and parentage. However, with the civil unions law (Law 76/2016), same-sex couples have gained rights in terms of legal recognition of their relationship. This includes access to inheritance rights but with specific limitations compared to married heterosexual couples.

Civil unions and succession

In the case of a civil union between people of the same sex, the partner has the right to a portion of the deceased partner’s inheritance, but there are no direct inheritance rights toward the children of the other partner. If one of the people in a civil union has children (biological or adopted), succession rights for these children remain unchanged compared to traditional legislation. In practice, the children of one partner in a civil union do not acquire any inheritance rights toward the partner of the other parent, unless they have been adopted by that partner.

Adopting a child in a same-sex couple

One of the most complex aspects concerns adoption rights within same-sex couples. Italian law allows adoption only for the single member of a same-sex couple, but does not allow adoption by both partners. This means that only the biological or adoptive partner has direct inheritance rights over the children of their companion, while the other partner has no legal bond with the children, even if they effectively act in a parental role.

In the case of international or national adoptions, same-sex couples may face additional difficulties, as Italian and international legislation do not always fully align regarding the recognition of the rights of homosexual parents, especially concerning succession.

Inheritance law in Italy has made significant progress in recent decades but remains a complex matter, especially in non-traditional families, such as those formed by same-sex couples or adoptive parents. Although biological children have the same inheritance rights as legitimate children, the situation for adopted children depends on the type of adoption, and for children of same-sex couples, the situation is further complicated by the lack of possibility for joint adoption. The issue of succession is therefore closely linked to legislative choices and the protection of the fundamental rights of families in all their forms. For this reason, it is always advisable to deepen the matter with professionals in the field, such as those at Agenzia delle Successioni.