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25 1952

ADOPTION ACT, 1952

PART III.

Effects of Adoption Orders.

Parental rights and duties.

24. —Upon an adoption order being made—

(a) the child shall be considered with regard to the rights and duties of parents and children in relation to each other as the child of the adopter or adopters born to him, her or them in lawful wedlock;

(b) the mother or guardian shall lose all parental rights and be freed from all parental duties with respect to the child.

Citizenship.

25. —Upon an adoption order being made in a case in which the adopter (or, where the adoption is by a married couple, the husband) is an Irish citizen the child, if not already an Irish citizen, shall be an Irish citizen.

Property rights.

26. —(1) Where, at any time after the making of an adoption order, an adopter or the adopted person or any other person dies intestate in respect of any real or personal property (other than property subject to an entailed interest under a disposition made before the date of the adoption order), that property shall devolve in all respects as if the adopted person were the child of the adopter born in lawful wedlock and were not the child of any other person.

(2) In any disposition of real or personal property made, whether by instrument inter vivos or by will (including codicil), after the date of an adoption order—

(a) any reference (whether express or implied) to the child or children of the adopter shall, unless the contrary intention appears, be construed as, or as including, a reference to the adopted person;

(b) any reference (whether express or implied) to the child or children of the adopted person's natural parents or either of them shall, unless the contrary intention appears, be construed as not being, or as not including, a reference to the adopted person; and

(c) any reference (whether express or implied) to a person related to the adopted person in any degree shall, unless the contrary intention appears, be construed as a reference to the person who would be related to him in that degree if he were the child of the adopter born in lawful wedlock and were not the child of any other person.

(3) For the purpose of the devolution of any property in accordance with this section and for the purpose of the construction of any disposition to which subsection (2) applies, an adopted person shall be deemed to be related to any other person being the child or adopted child of the adopter or, where the adopters are a married couple, of either of them—

(a) where the adopters are a married couple and the other person is the child or adopted child of both spouses—as brother or sister of the whole blood;

(b) in any other case—as brother or sister of the half-blood.

(4) Notwithstanding any rule of law, a disposition made by will or codicil executed before the date of an adoption order shall not be treated for the purposes of this section as made after that date by reason only that the will or codicil is confirmed by a codicil executed after that date.

(5) Where an adoption order is made in respect of a person who had been previously adopted, such previous adoption shall be disregarded for the purposes of this section in relation to the devolution of any property on the death of a person dying intestate after the date of the subsequent adoption order and in relation to any disposition of property after that date.

Succession duty, legacy duty, customs duty and stamp duty on land.

27. —For the purposes of—

(a) succession duty and legacy duty,

(b) the stamp duties chargeable on conveyances or transfers of land, and

(c) exemption from customs duty under paragraph (b) of section 18 of the Finance Act, 1936 (No. 31 of 1936) (which relates to the importation of articles of inheritance)

an adopted person shall be considered as the child of the adopter or adopters born to him, her or them in lawful wedlock and not to be the child of any other person.

Fatal Accidents and Workmen's Compensation Acts.

28. —For the purposes of—

(a) the Fatal Accidents Acts 1846 to 1908, and

(b) the Workmen's Compensation Acts, 1934 and 1948,

an adopted person shall be considered as the child of the adopter or adopters born to him, her or them in lawful wedlock and not to be the child of any other person.

Subsequent marriage of natural parents.

29. —(1) Subject to subsection (2), the validity of an adoption order in respect of an illegitimate child and the provisions of this Act in regard to the effects of the order shall not be affected by the subsequent marriage of his natural parents and the Legitimacy Act, 1931 (No. 13 of 1931), shall not apply to the child unless the order is set aside.

(2) (a) Subsection (1) shall not apply where the child has been adopted by one of his natural parents and their subsequent marriage would, apart from that subsection, legitimate the child.

(b) In that case, the Legitimacy Act, 1931 , shall apply and the adoption order shall cease to be in force.

(c) Upon the re-registration of the birth of the child under that Act an tArd-Chláraitheoir shall cancel the entry in the Adopted Children Register and notify the Board accordingly.

Assurance on life of adopted child under ten years of age.

30. —(1) For the purposes of the enactments for the time being in force relating to friendly societies and industrial assurance companies, which enable such societies and companies to insure money to be paid for funeral expenses and restrict the persons to whom money may be paid on the death of a child under ten years of age, an adopted child shall be considered as the child of the adopter or adopters born to him, her or them in lawful wedlock and not to be the child of any other person.

(2) Where, before the making of an adoption order, any such insurance has been effected by a person who, in pursuance of this Act, has given consent to the making of the order, the rights and liabilities under the policy shall by virtue of the adoption order stand transferred to the adopter (or, where a married couple are the adopters, to the husband) who shall, for the purpose of the said enactments, be treated as the person who took out the policy.

Affiliation orders, etc.

31. —(1) Where an adoption order is made in respect of an illegitimate child, then, unless the mother is an adopter, any affiliation order in force with respect to the child and any agreement whereby the natural father of the child has undertaken to make payments specifically for the benefit of the child shall cease to have effect, but without prejudice to the recovery of any arrears which are due under the order or agreement at the date of the adoption order.

(2) Where an adoption order is made in respect of a child committed to the care of a fit person by an order in force under the Children Act, 1908, the committal order shall cease to have effect.

Restriction of Part I of Children Act, 1908.

32. —Part I of the Children Act, 1908, as amended by the Children Act, 1934 (No. 15 of 1934) (which relates to the nursing and maintenance of children for reward), shall, in relation to a child who is the subject of an adoption order or an interim order, not apply to an adopter or to a person in whose favour the interim order was made.

Termination of parental authority of public assistance authority.

33. —Upon an adoption order being made a resolution in force in respect of the child under section 45 of the Public Assistance Act 1939 (No. 27 of 1939), shall terminate.