Fetus's Inheritance in the Event of Artificial Insemination after the Death of the Owner of the Sperm (Father): Legal and Jurisprudence Perspectives

There are some cases in which spouses cannot give birth naturally and conception occurs by insemination of father’s sperm and mother’s egg in laboratory. If the insemination is done after the father’s death, the question is whether the baby, who has been born by inseminating, has the legitimate lineage and inherits from the dead father or not. This article shows that the legislator has accepted, in some provisions such as Article 875 of the Iranian Civil Code, condition subsequent to fetus inheriting, and has considered criteria for identifying the parentage creating a human from mother’s egg and father’s sperm. It is believed that if the fetus is born alive, he will inherit from his father. Thus, as far as law is concerned, the fetus will inherit from his dead father.