Posthumous Child Law and Legal Definition
A posthumous child is an infant who is born subsequent to the death of his/her father. In certain cases, a child born after the death of his/her mother is also known as a posthumous child. A posthumous child inherits as a heir if the child is born alive following a gestation period that shows that the child was conceived prior to the death of the father who died intestate.
An example regarding the rights of posthumous children set forth in New York is as follows:
“A future estate conditioned upon the death of a person without children, distributees, heirs or issue is defeated by the birth of a child conceived before but born alive after the death of such person”. [NY CLS EPTL § 6-5.7]
Legal Definition list
Related Legal Terms
- Abused Child
- Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act
- Administration for Children and Families
- Administration on Children, Youth, and Families
- Adopted Child
- Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980
- Adult Child With a Disability
- After-Born Child
- Aggravated Sexual Assault Against a Child
- Aid to Families With Dependent Children AFDC
