Succession Act 1965 section 69A

Share of relatives: special provision

Section 69A prevents a person from claiming two separate shares of an intestate estate where their entitlement arises through both a birth family relationship and an adoptive or other legally recognised family relationship with the deceased.

• This section applies to "affected persons" — individuals who may have dual family relationships as determined under section 4B of the Act (introduced by the Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022).
• Where a person qualifies for a share of an intestate estate through a relationship traced via their birth family (a determination under section 4B(1)(a)) and also qualifies for a share through a relationship traced via another family connection (a determination under section 4B(1)(b)), they cannot take both shares.
• The person is limited to taking only one of the two shares to which they would otherwise be entitled.
• The person has the right to elect which of the two shares they wish to take — either the share arising from the birth family relationship or the share arising from the other family relationship.