Who Counts as Part of the Class
Estate documents often use group language. A trust might distribute assets to "my descendants" or "my children." A will might leave property to "nieces and nephews." When that language appears, Arizona law includes adopted children and children born out of wedlock in the group. The rules follow the same principles that apply to intestate succession.
A person who is adopted or born out of wedlock and that person's descendants, if appropriate to the class, are included in class gifts and other terms of relationship in accordance with the intestate succession under article 1 of this chapter.
A.R.S. § 14-2705(A)The statute also clarifies how relationship terms are read. Words like "uncles," "aunts," "nieces," or "nephews" exclude relatives by marriage (affinity) unless the document says otherwise. Words like "brothers" or "sisters" include both half-blood and whole-blood relationships.
A Limit for Non-Parent Transferors
There is one important exception. When the person who created the document is not the adopting parent, an adopted child is only included if that child actually lived as a regular member of the adopting parent's household while a minor. This applies whether the child lived there before or after the adoption.
In construing a dispositive provision of a transferor who is not the adopting parent, an adopted person is not considered the child of the adopting parent unless the adopted person lived while a minor, either before or after the adoption, as a regular member of the household of the adopting parent at any time.
A.R.S. § 14-2705(B)This provision prevents a situation where a distant relative's estate plan is expanded to include someone adopted in name only, without a genuine family relationship. It balances inclusion with the reasonable expectation that the document creator intended to benefit people who were part of an actual family unit.
For children born out of wedlock, the same intestate succession rules apply. A child born outside of lawful wedlock is treated the same as any other child of the parent for purposes of class gifts. This ensures equal treatment regardless of the circumstances of birth.