Blog Post | 114 KY. L. J. ONLINE | November 28, 2025
Adopting Dead Children: An Overview of Kentucky’s New Posthumous Adoption Law
By: Hadley Christensen, Staff Editor, Vol. 114
When Braylon tragically passed from medical complications just weeks before his final adoption hearing, his adoptive parents questioned whether the law would allow them to finalize it.[1] Ultimately, the judge granted their adoption and updated the legal documents to include Braylon’s new legal name and his parents on his birth and death certificates.[2] Many states don’t have laws addressing what happens when a child in the process of being adopted dies before it is finalized: Kentucky now does.[3] Braylon’s Law creates a narrow pathway for families seeking legal closure; it allows recognition as the legal parents on the child’s birth and death certificate — the only practical effect of the law.[4] The law also writes out the ability for the adoptive parents to collect inheritance or any other governmental benefit from the adoption,[5] raising a fundamental policy question: Was this law truly necessary? The Commonwealth, through Braylon’s Law, exemplifies that creating statutory paths when legal frameworks are intertwined with human emotions can and should be done. Since no changes were made to current adoption laws, Braylon’s Law’s significance is not in revolutionizing procedure, but in its deliberate and narrow tailoring to prioritize familial relationships while protecting itself from exploitation.
The requirements for adoption to be finalized postmortem closely mirror those of a typical adoption in Kentucky.[6] Braylon’s Law limits a judge’s ability to finalize posthumous adoptions to those who already have pending adoption proceedings.[7] Meaning that any adoption finalized under this law would have already met the requirements to file for a typical adoption, including being eighteen years of age, a resident of the Commonwealth, and having been placed for adoption by the cabinet or resided with the petitioner(s) for 90 days continuously.[8]
Braylon’s Law includes additional requirements that must be met, acting as further safeguards. First, the child must have been placed in the home with those seeking to finalize the adoption when the child passed.[9] Second, the court must also have received the reports required.[10] Third, a hearing has been scheduled, and the necessary parties have been given sufficient notice.[11] Lastly, the court must determine that the typical requirements for an adoption under KRS § 199.520(1) have been sufficiently met.[12] If all the requirements are satisfied, the judge presiding over the case will still have the decision whether to complete the adoption.[13] A typical adoption would require the same reports, hearing, notice, and requirements under KRS 199.520(1).[14] If the judge determines that an adoption should be completed, the law provides that the following steps must be taken: (1) the name of the child shall be changed to match the petitions, and (2) all orders and judgements relating to the child shall be conform to this child’s new name and shall only contain the names of the petitioners.[15]
The last provision of this law was not originally included in the bill but added later as an amendment before it was codified, adding a layer of protection to prevent exploitation.[16] Writing out the adoptive parents’ ability to receive any inheritance or government benefit,[17] this section will prevent this law from being overused. This strips adoptive parents of the potential for financial gain from adopting a deceased child. That leaves the only benefit provided by this law, the ability to be listed as the legal parent on the child’s birth and death certificates.
Kentucky isn’t the first state to allow a grieving family to adopt a child after they have passed.[18] A similar provision, Shelly’s Law, passed by the Michigan legislature in 2008 had a very distinct difference: applicability.[19] Braylon’s Law was introduced and codified into law after Braylon had already been granted his adoption.[20] Having no effect specifically on Braylon’s family, but the law aimed to provide consistency for others in the future. Shelly’s Law, passed in 2008, permitted the adoption of Shelly to be finalized and was written immediately to end after her adoption.[21] This law applied only to Shelly, providing closure to just her grieving family. Both laws protect themselves from being exploited in the future, but in two different ways. Shelly’s Law through its immediate expiration and Braylon’s Law through writing out benefits, but Braylon’s Law will continue to provide relief to grieving families.[22]
The reality of this law is that it will rarely be used and only provides the ability to change the child’s legal name and recognize the petitioner(s) as their legal parent(s). Braylon’s Law does not significantly change the way that adoption in Kentucky works; it just clarifies what can happen in the tragic case when a child passes before reaching their final adoption hearing. Adoptive parents now have a path to finalize their adoptions that have already been in progress and to be listed as legal parents on the birth and death certificates.[23]
Posthumous adoption, however, will not see a significant increase in popularity because the stringent requirements of this law protect the sanctity of adoption. Permitting posthumous adoptions only in cases where if the child had lived, they also would have been adopted by the same family. In passing Braylon’s Law, the Commonwealth legislature created a permanent statutory path recognizing how human emotions and familial relationships can play a critical role in the legal adoption process.
Taking the time to codify posthumous adoption proceedings, with little practical effect on adoption proceedings, was the Commonwealth's way of recognizing the importance of familial relationships. Braylon’s Law addresses a specific tragic incident, allowing for legal closure when the adoption proceeding was already scheduled. Maintaining the humanitarian nature of the law, it safeguards itself by adding additional requirements, leaving judicial discretion, and protecting itself from financial exploitation. Braylon’s Law demonstrates that the legal system can and should create statutory paths where human emotions and legal framework intersect.
[1]Bill Allows for Adoption Finalization After Death of Child, KET (Feb. 14, 2025), https://ket.org/program/kentucky-edition/bill-allows-for-adoption-finalization-after-death-of-child/.
[2] Id.
[3] Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 199.521 (West 2025).
[4] Id.
[5] Id. § 199.521(4).
[6] Id. §199.521.; Id. § 199.470.
[7] Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 199.521(1) (West 2025).
[8] Id. § 199.470.
[9] Id. § 199.521(1)(a).
[10] Id. § 199.521(1)(b).
[11] Id. §199.521(1)(c).
[12] Id. §199.521(1)(d).
[13] Id. § 199.521(1).
[14] Id. § 199.470.
[15] Id. § 199.521(2).
[16] H.B. 164, Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Ky. 2025).
[17] Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 199.521(4) (West 2025).
[18] In re Baby T., 734 A.2d 304 (N.J. 1999); Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 710.56a (West 2008) (repealed 2008); Amy L. Payne, State’s First Posthumous Adoption Completes Essexville Family, MLive (Dec. 24, 2008, at 11:32 ET), https://www.mlive.com/news/bay-city/2008/12/states_first_posthumous_adopti.html; Kelly Wilkinson, Baby Abigail Becomes a Znachko, IndyStar (May 29, 2020, at 13:27 ET), https://www.indystar.com/picture-gallery/news/local/2020/05/29/virtual-hearing-finalizes-posthumous-adoption/5283702002/.
[19] Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 710.56a (West 2008) (repealed 2008).
[20] Kentucky General Assembly Regular Session | House Families and Children Committee, at 01:22–11:01 (KET, Feb 13, 2025), https://ket.org/legislature/archives/2025/regular/house-families-and-children-committee-w5b369.
[21] Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 710.56a (West 2008) (repealed 2008).
[22] House Families and Children Committee, supra note 20.
[23] Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 199.521 (West 2025).