Succession Act 1965 section 4B

Special provisions in relation to affected persons

Section 4B ensures that a person whose birth was incorrectly registered — known as an "affected person" — has full succession (inheritance) rights in relation to both their biological family and their social family (i.e. the people who raised them as their own child following the incorrect registration).

• An "affected person" is someone whose birth register entry was falsified so that a person other than their biological mother was recorded as their mother, and the person(s) named on the register assumed the role of parent and treated the child as their own.
• For inheritance purposes, affected persons are treated as having the same family relationships with their social parents, siblings and extended family as they have with their biological parents, siblings and extended family — effectively giving them dual inheritance rights.
• Any inheritance distributions, court orders or legal right shares that were made before this section came into force are protected and cannot be invalidated merely because the deceased was a social parent rather than a biological parent.
• Special transitional rules apply to estates where the deceased died before this section commenced, with different procedures depending on whether administration of the estate was granted before or after 26 April 2022 (the "relevant date"), including extended time limits for certain claims.

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