12.02.120 Determination of Relationship of Parent and Child
When necessary in the case of a person dying without a Will the relationship of parent and child shall be governed by the following principles:
(a) Posthumous Birth. A person conceived before the deceased's death but born thereafter shall inherit as if he/she had been born in the lifetime of the deceased.
(b) Adopted Person. A person who is legally adopted in a court of competent jurisdiction is treated as the natural child of an adopting parent.
(c) Non-Marital Child Status.
(1) Maternal. A non-marital child is the child of his/her mother so that he/she inherits from both mother and maternal relatives.
(2) Paternal. A non-marital child is the child of his/her father so that he/she inherits from his/her father and paternal relatives if:
(A) during the lifetime of the father a court of competent jurisdiction has issued a paternity order; or
(B) the father of the child has signed a document acknowledging paternity. The document must have been signed in the presence of one or more witnesses and before a notary public or other officer and must have been filed within 60 days of signature with the putative father registry established under tribal or state law; or
(C) after a court hearing, paternity can be established by clear and convincing evidence, which may include, but is not limited to: (i) evidence derived from a genetic marker test, or (ii) evidence that the father openly and notoriously acknowledged the child as his own, or (iii) other documentary evidence, including but not limited to, a birth certificate.
(3) Agreement of Support. The existence of an agreement obligating the father to support the non-marital child does not mean the child is qualified to inherit from the father.
(4) Non-Marital Child Inheritance. If a non-marital child dies, his/her relatives succeed to an inheritance as if the deceased was a marital child, provided that the father and the paternal relatives may inherit only if the paternity of the non-marital child can be established and if there is an Order of Support that the father have no arrears.
(d) Other Children. Stepchildren and foster children and their descendants do not inherit unless adopted as recognized by Tribal Court or any other court of competent jurisdiction.
