Wow, who knew that it mattered, when you were born, which side of the blanket you were born on when it comes to getting your birthright inheritence or whether your rights will be denied?
Is a child’s birthright not automatic when that birthparent gives the child up for adoption? No, it can be denied in the state of New York, anyway.
Today, i read in the news that a woman born over 50 years ago to a direct descendent of the jello fortune was denied by the highest court in New York the right to a portion of that said fortune.
It seems that the estate of the woman’s birthmother denied that she was entitled to a third of the estate; because, she had been put up for adoption and, because the laws of the state said that a child put up for adoption wasn’t considered a child of the person for whom the trust was established.
The mother of the “child” went on to get married later after putting up the infant for adoption and went on to have two additional children who were entitled to their portion of the estate because they were born during her marriage.
Does that seem fair? The child did not have a say about when she was conceived or to whom she was born; she was born to the woman and allegedly, to a man who was married to someone else. Is it her fault about the circumstances of her birth? No. Was it her choice to be adopted? No. Still, i guess legally…the decision has been made.
My question is…morally is it a correct decision? I wonder how the birth, half- siblings feel? I mean, obviously the estate felt that they had a right to fight paying a portion of the trust fund to this woman; but, personally, if it were me….i would feel that she was entitled to a sum of money.
The woman started searching for her birthparents when she was 19. She spent lots of money and time searching. She didn’t start her search thinking that she was going to discover she was born to a family with incredible riches that she could inherit. I am sure that she began searching strictly for the purpose of finding out more about herself personally.
Whatever her personal reasons for searching; I hope she found some kind of answers to her questions when she met her mother. She did get to meet her and find out about her birth circumstances. Hopefully she was able to heal those parts of herself that were filled with questions when she discovered she had a NEED to know about her beginnings.
It seems that these questions about the trust fund came up after the birth mother died. Who knows what the birth mother’s feelings were on the subject. That wasn’t reported in anything i have heard about this trust fund issue with the courts. Was the woman and her siblings able to develop any type of postitive relationship? If so, why the issue of money went before the court is curious.
If the half siblings contested sharing the money…i then wonder, what makes them in their own minds feel more entitled? It is kind of sad. Who knows how much richer their lives could have been otherwise. I mean, i wonder if they would find joy in knowing their sister had there not been money involved? Maybe it isn’t just an issue of money; could it be some other reason that they feel she is not entitled to a share of the wealth? I wonder is the sister the kind of person that would not be welcome in a family whether they had money or not? Is she a good, friendly, moral person?
Some how, it feels like an injustice. I mean, the half siblings got to grow up with their mother. The woman did not. They were born to a comfortable lifestyle; did the woman live in comfort? Should she be compensated for being rejected at her birth? I don’t know. But regardless, it just feels a little unfair to me.
Write where you are 
I totally agree with you. I was not give up for adoption, but my parents had to get married because of me. I felt the rejection from my dad as far as I can remember. He did every thing in his possible strength to drive me of the family farm. Threatens me with inheritans and told the blue eye girl (my youngest sister) that she will inherit everything. Was it my fault that I was born , or that they had to get married? Cant`the state do something in this case ? I never had the privilege of a loving father , worked as hard as I could on the farm to gain respect which I never received. And now everything I did for the farm is going to the youngest daughter.
I sometimes wonder if God still care about the firstborn right like in the Bible or if parents can just kick you out and let u sit on street because you are not the beloved .
I found your article very interesting. This is my story. I was born in Florida and my mother and father were both originally from winston-salem North Carolina. In the late sixties, they both came to Florida, leaving behind familes of their own, in which they both had children from with another. My mom’s son died @ the age of 19 in 1973. He lived with “her” mother, my grandmother of whom they did not for many reasons unknown to me, did not get along. I was told years ago by my father that it was a huge secret and the fact that I was the only grandaughter born to my grandma that i was the one in line for a “birthright”. I had no clue what this was and unfortunatley, my mother and I had always had a very strained relationship. When I was 16, my grandma sent me a box of very old pictures taken out of books and such. On the back of these were names, dates, addresses, etc. She told me not to let my mom have them and that I would need them one day. My mom’s family has “historical houses’ and such and have always lived in the same town, address since 1836. It was told to me that a “birthright”: had been passed down from one of the men on my greatgrandmother’s side”to the first born daughter of her daughter(my grandma), then to the first born daughter of hers(my mom) and to rest with the first born daughter of hers( me) Unfortunaley, my mom died without conforming this, but circumstances of my childhood has made me believe this to be true. Starting with the pics, They are of the GReat- great grandparents that made this right and of their desendants. My problem is I fully believed my mom to of let me know this through her estate when she passed even stating that she was “sorry” to me , moments before she passed away from ovarian cancer. My eldest brother of which was to be the executor of her estate, removed all of her legal documents in her home while she was permantly in the hospital until the time of her death in 2005. He says she left no will and never went to probate court and refuses to allow anyone access to her documents. I have 2 other brothers and only my younger brother and I went excluded, him because of our realtionship and he would never keep anything away from me. My oldest brother told me in anger one day that he had the document I was looking for from my grandma, but he would never give it to me. Everyone is shocked by his greed and without having proof of her assets, (she lived in a apartment)a lawyer would not be helpful. How do I try to find this out? Just because they decided to come to florida and me be raised here should that effect my heritage? I’ve done a genalogical search and have even more questions due to the wealth of their familes for generations back for them to come to Florida and basically struggled for many years as a single parent after my dad left. I met my grandma Hazel when I was first 11 and she did always tell me how special I was because I was “her” only grandaughter. It has nothing to with the value on a monetary means, I’d like to know the truth. If you have any suggestions, I’d greatly appreciate it. I’ve tried to contact somenone in my “extended” family, but although, my mother died being extremley repsected in her profession and life she is not looked upon as such up there in North Carolina. Most of her life she has been in a postion of not ” really needing money, having more than what any of us can explain has always intriqued us. I’m still searching databases, unfortunatley most want a fee and I’m not real comfortable with that after being scammed a few times. My husband and I are thinking of traveling to North Carolina next summer. I am 40 years old and have seeked answers most of my life, anything any one can suggest will be greatly appreciated.
vickie Todd
Vickie:
there are several things you can do. You can check with the local library in that area for help in the reference department…they may have access to old journals, diaries or local books that were written on members of that community.
You could also check with the probate court in the county seat for any wills, or documents regarding distribution of the assets. I would even contact the probate court clerk and see if there is any way that any of the information is a matter of public record. It may also be possible to contact the office of Vital Statistics in Raleigh, North Carolina for added information. Best of luck to you in your search of your family history and legacy!
Thank you, I really appreciate your help. I feel like if I could find a way to acquire my grandma’s death certificate or obiturary it would help further my search. I will be looking into your suggestions. Have a blessed day.
vickie