Are stepchildren covered under the Intestate Succession Act?
In Singapore, the Intestate Succession Act governs how your assets are to be split without a Will.
However, for the purposes of the Act, a stepchild is not considered the child of the step-parent unless the stepchild has been adopted by the step-parent. This means that by default without a Will a stepchild gets NOTHING from the step-parent's Estate!
Fun Fact: Although stepchildren are excluded from inheriting under intestacy, they are still responsible for supporting stepparents under the Maintenance of Parents Act!
You can read about the following case [2012] SGHC 93, where stepchildren applied to the court to be recognised as children under the Intestate Succession Act (ISA) but were unsuccessful.
In this case, Mdm Lina passed away without a Will in 2011, leaving an estate that included an HDB flat, a private property, jewellery, and cash. She had no biological children, only stepchildren from her marriage to Mr. Low, who had previously bequeathed his entire estate to her. Her stepchildren sought court recognition as her “children” under the ISA to inherit her estate, arguing that Mdm Lina treated them as her own.
The High Court, however, ruled that the term “child” under Section 3 of the ISA strictly includes only legitimate and adopted children, excluding stepchildren. The court found no basis in the ISA or related statutes to interpret “child” in ISA as including stepchildren. Thus, Mdm Lina’s estate was awarded to her sole surviving family member, her brother. The court also encouraged him to consider making provisions for the stepchildren out of goodwill, though this was left to his discretion. Both parties’ costs were ordered to be paid from the estate.