According to the Texas Probate Code, stepchildren have few rights to inherit from their stepparents if they die without valid wills. A person who dies without a will is an intestate. An intestate’s heirs have a right of succession as determined by the Texas Probate Code. A stepchild does not have a right to either of his stepparent’s intestate property under the Texas Probate Code because the state does not consider him a legal relative. This is true even when a stepparent has a very close relationship or bond with his stepchild. It also applies to a child of a single parent who later marries and the new husband or wife raises his spouse’s natural child.
The limited exception to the general rule that stepchildren cannot inherit from their stepparents absent a valid will is when a stepparent legally adopts his stepchild or promises to adopt the child but later does not. In the latter situation, if the stepchild can prove the existence of a valid oral or written contract promising to adopt him, he may inherit from his stepparent who died without a will.
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