RIGHT OF ADOPTED CHILD TO INHERITANCE

We arranged for an interview session shortly after our first group discussion on 14 October 2020. The interviewee is a lawyer who has been practising law for nearly 18 years and is specialised in handling probate cases. Before accepting the interview invitation, we were informed that the interviewee wanted to remain anonymous during the session. As such, her camera was switched off during the interview, and we would not have revealed her name in our report. Six questions were prepared and reviewed by the lecturer before posing to the interviewee.

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Noticeably, the internet connection was momentarily unstable during the interview. Thus, we had to repeat the question when the interviewee failed to hear it clearly, and at the same time, we reconfirmed the answer of the interviewee to ensure that we did not miss any explanation from her. While the interviewee explained her answers in a very detailed manner, we note that the interviewee was very careful to answer the questions in the sense that she stressed that the answers she gave were based on her experience and her opinion. For example, she said either "I believe that" or "in my opinion" before she elaborated more on her comments. This may mean that she recognises that there could be a different way of interpreting the law, and that her responses should not be taken as a universal answer.

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Throughout the interview session, we gained valuable input on a variety of key issues related to the adopted child's right to inheritance under civil law. We are of the view that adopted children deserve to inherit the properties of adoptive parents just like biological children. Since we realize that the right of the adopted child to adoptive parents is assured only after the adoption order has been issued, we believe that it is appropriate to explain to the public the significance of finalising adoption under the Adoption Act 1952 in order to secure the right of inheritance of the adopted child. Message should be sent to the public in order to raise awareness of the importance of making the adoption official under the Adoption Act 1952, since it is likely that some adoptive parents do not register the adoption simply because they feel that the adoption process is complicated and have little idea of the implications of it.

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The questions and answers of the interview can be viewed below: