Identity
of Heirs
California
Probate Code, section 249.5
249.5. For purposes of determining
rights to property to be distributed upon
the death of a decedent, a child of the
decedent conceived and born after the
death of the decedent shall be deemed
to have been born in the lifetime of the
decedent, and after the execution of all
of the decedent's testamentary instruments,
if the child or his or her representative
proves by clear and convincing evidence
that all of the following conditions are
satisfied:
(a) The decedent, in writing,
specifies that his or her genetic material
shall be used for the posthumous conception
of a child of the decedent, subject to
the following:
(1) The specification shall
be signed by the decedent and dated.
(2) The specification may
be revoked or amended only by a writing,
signed by the decedent and dated.
(3) A person is designated
by the decedent to control the use of
the genetic material.
(b) The person designated
by the decedent to control the use of
the genetic material has given written
notice by certified mail, return receipt
requested, that the decedent's genetic
material was available for the purpose
of posthumous conception. The notice shall
have been given to a person who has the
power to control the distribution of either
the decedent's property or death benefits
payable by reason of the decedent's death,
within four months of the date of issuance
of a certificate of the decedent's death
or entry of a judgment determining the
fact of the decedent's death, whichever
event occurs first.
(c) The child was in utero
using the decedent's genetic material
and was in utero within two years of the
date of issuance of a certificate of the
decedent's death or entry of a judgment
determining the fact of the decedent's
death, whichever event occurs first. This
subdivision does not apply to a child
who shares all of his or her nuclear genes
with the person donating the implanted
nucleus as a result of the application
of somatic nuclear transfer technology
commonly known as human cloning.
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