A copy of the magistrate judge's report and recommendation is attached hereto as part of this order. The court finds the decision of the Michigan Court of Appeals in In re Estate of Scharenbroch, 191 Mich. App. 215, 477 N.W.2d 436 (1991) especially compelling. In that case, the court was faced with a nearly identical situation.
Pre-EPIC caselaw required the child-petitioner to show mutual acknowledgement to inherit. See In re Scharenbroch Estate, 191 Mich App 215, 216; 477 NW2d 436 (1991); In re Jones Estate, 207 Mich App 544, 548; 525 NW2d 493 (1994). --------
We are constrained to affirm the probate court's finding in this respect only because there was no evidence presented that David II actually acknowledged the relationship of parent and child. In re Estate of Scharenbroch, 191 Mich. App. 215, 216; 477 N.W.2d 436 (1991). This is not to state that a young child can never be capable of acknowledging the parent-child relationship, as the probate court seemed to conclude.
PreāEPIC caselaw required the child-petitioner to show that he or she and his or her parent mutually acknowledged their relationship. See In re Scharenbroch Estate, 191 Mich.App. 215, 216, 477 N.W.2d 436 (1991) ; In re Jones Estate, 207 Mich.App. 544, 548, 525 N.W.2d 493 (1994).--------