Yes. In Wisconsin, adopted children generally have the same inheritance rights as biological children in a decedent’s estate. Once a child is legally adopted, the child is treated as the child of the adoptive parents for inheritance purposes and has full rights to inherit from the adoptive parents both under a will and under intestate succession. Correspondingly, after adoption, the legal relationship with the biological parents is generally terminated for inheritance purposes, so the adopted child typically does not inherit from biological parents and biological parents do not inherit from the adopted child.
Adopted children also inherit from adoptive grandparents and other adoptive relatives under Wisconsin’s family-relationship and intestacy rules, and they are included as “children,” “issue,” or “descendants” under wills and trusts unless the governing instrument clearly provides otherwise. There are important exceptions and special situations, however. In stepparent or family adoptions, the child remains the legal child of the adoptive stepparent, and in certain limited circumstances, rights may continue with one biological parent depending on the adoption structure. An adopted child can still inherit through biological relatives if a will or trust expressly includes the child because testamentary intent controls. Special rules may also apply in the context of foreign or adult adoptions, depending on the validity and recognition of the adoption under Wisconsin law .
In practice, unless a will or trust clearly states otherwise, Wisconsin treats adopted children equally with biological children for inheritance and class-gift purposes. The policy is to recognize that adoption creates a full legal parent‑child relationship, replacing the biological relationship for inheritance. This approach ensures equal treatment of children within a family, clear and predictable estate distribution, and consistency between family law and probate law.
If you would like to discuss this matter more thoroughly, please reach out to our Madison Wisconsin Estate Planning attorneys. We are here to help!