{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-199.521","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 199.521","heading":"Posthumous adoption.","body":"(1) In any pending adoption proceeding under this chapter, the court may enter a\njudgment of adoption after a child's death upon the motion of the petitioner or\npetitioners if:\n(a) The child dies during the time the child is placed in the home of the petitione r\nor petitioners;\n(b) Prior to the hearing, the court has received the report of the guardian ad litem,\nif any, for the child and the report required by KRS 199.510;\n(c) A hearing has been scheduled and notice has been given as required under\nKRS 199.515; and\n(d) The court determines after hearing the case that the requirements of KRS\n199.520(1) have been met.\n(2) Any judgment of adoption under this section shall:\n(a) Change the name of the child to conform with the prayer of the petition;\n(b) Ensure that the judgment and all orders required to be entered and recorded in\nthe order book, including the caption, shall contain only the names of the\npetitioners and the proposed adopted name of the child, without any reference\nto the child's former name or the names of the birth parents; and\n(c) Establish that upon entry of the judgment of adoption, from and after the date\nof the filing of the petition the child shall be deemed the child of petitioners\nand, except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, for the purpose of\nlegal considerations, the natural child of the parents adopting the child the\nsame as if born of their bodies, and all legal relationship between the adopted\nchild and the biological parents shall be terminated except the relationship of\na biological parent who is the spouse of an adoptive parent.\n(3) The clerk of the court shall notify the cabinet of the adoption as required in KRS\n199.520.\n(4) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, nothing in this section shall entitle\nthe petitioner or petitioners proceeding under this section to any present or future\ninterest in property or inheritance of the deceased child, or to any other benefit,\nwhether governmental or otherwise, that would have become payable had the\njudgment of adoption been entered prior to the death of the child.","path":["KRS Chapter 199"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=56112","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:51:54Z","sha256":"03b472a4f5e63de8d580ffec2b0175faad3db5e44ad753c44c2cf4c603472382","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-199.520","next":"us-ky/krs-199.525"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}