Law Commons^™

Undeserving Heirs?--The Case Of The "Terminated" Parent, Richard Lewis Brown

University of Richmond Law Review

Every state has an intestate succession statute that prescribes how the property of those who die without a will should be distributed. Every state also by statute authorizes the government to intervene in the parent-child relationship in the most draconian manner possible by involuntarily terminating parental rights. This article explores how the law functions at the intersection of these two statutory schemes-the inheritance regime, as expressed through intestate succession statutes, and the child welfare regime, as expressed through termination of parental rights statutes ("TPR statutes").