Parent may inherit from a child whom the parent did not support

A child received a large settlement of a medical malpractice action which was eventually placed in a special needs trust which on the child’s death is to be distributed to her heirs under the law in effect at the time of her death.  After the child’s death, the mother opposed the father’s claim to one-half the trust property on the grounds that he failed to support the child during her lifetime. 

In In re Rogiers, 933 A.2d 971 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 2007), the court affirmed the trial court’s grant of a summary judgment to the father on his claim to the estate, holding that the New Jersey intestacy statute does not condition the right of a parent to inherit from a child on the provision of support for the child.