9:3-50. Entry of judgment of adoption, effect; inheritance rights
14. a. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1993, c.345).
b. The entry of a judgment of adoption shall establish the same relationships, rights, and responsibilities between the child and the adopting parent as if the child were born to the adopting parent in lawful wedlock. For good cause, the court may direct the entry of judgment nunc pro tunc as of the date the action was instituted. In applying the intestate laws of this State, an adopted child shall have the same rights of inheritance as if born to the adopting parent in lawful wedlock.
c. The entry of a judgment of adoption shall:
(1) terminate all parental rights and responsibilities of the parent towards the adoptive child except for a parent who is the spouse of the petitioner and except those rights that have vested prior to entry of the judgment of adoption;
(2) terminate all rights of inheritance under intestacy from or through the parent unless that parent is the spouse of the petitioner or that parent or other relative had died prior to the judgment of adoption; and
(3) terminate all rights of inheritance under intestacy from or through the child which existed prior to the adoption.
d. The court may order counseling for the adopting parents.
L.1977,c.367,s.14; amended 1993,c.345,s.13.