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Johnson v. Johnson9/14/2000
them would be rewarded by not having to pay support in the event of divorce. Id.
[ ] Here, the majority suggests that Antonyio Johnson may be penalized for his generosity and close association with Jessica Clayton. To harmonize the family unit after Madonna Johnson took in her son's child and obtained temporary custody, Antonyio Johnson provided food, shelter, clothing, education, and assistance for Jessica for over ten years. The Miller court emphasized:
he natural parent should always be considered the primary recourse for child support because society and its current laws assume that the natural parent will support his or her child. It is only when a stepparent by his or her conduct actively interferes with the children's support from their natural parent that he or she may be equitably estopped from denying his or her duty to support the children. 478 A.2d at 359.
[ ] Here, not only is the record devoid of any indications that support was sought through Jessica Clayton's natural parents, but there is no finding that Antonyio Johnson actively interfered with Jessica Clayton's right to seek support from her natural parents. On remand, as identified in Miller, a finding that Antonyio Johnson did actively interfere with Jessica Clayton's opportunity to obtain support from David and Michelle Clayton will be essential for a finding of equitable estoppel. The opposite finding seems already implicit in the district court's reasoned analysis which suggests that Jessica Clayton can seek support from her natural parents and can seek assistance from authorities to enforce such obligations.
B.
[ ] The majority also cites Frye v. Frye, 738 P.2d 505 (Nev. 1987), as support that equitable adoption can impose a duty of child support even though the adoption was never finalized. Unlike here, in Frye the natural father's parental rights were terminated. Id. The court, underscoring the importance of termination of parental rights, stated the act of terminating parental rights "left Amanda without any legal father to whom she may look for financial support." Id. at 506. Jessica Clayton certainly can seek financial support from her natural father, David Clayton, or her natural mother, Michelle Clayton. The majority, without support or reflection on the cases it cites for support, concludes in 40 n.4 that "equitable adoption may occur without the termination of the natural parents' parental rights."
[ ] Like Wener, Frye has been subsequently distinguished. See Fenn v. Fenn, 174 Ariz. 84, 847 P.2d 129 (Ariz. App. Div. 1 1993); Russo v. Gardner, 956 P.2d 98 (Nev. 1998). In Fenn, the Arizona Appellate Division stated that Arizona courts have applied equitable adoption or adoption by estoppel "only when a child seeks to inherit from the estate of a person who had previously entered an adoption contract with the child's natural parents that, except for statutory formalities, was fully performed during the decedent's lifetime." Fenn, 847 P.2d at 133 (citations omitted). The elements of equitable adoption "are specific to inheritance cases, and no Arizona court has attempted to recast them in the context of child support ." Id.
[ ] The Supreme Court of Nevada, reviewing its decision in Frye, has stated it "applied the equitable adoption doctrine in upholding a child support obligation" and "limited the application of the equitable adoption doctrine to the specific facts of that case." Russo v. Gardner, 956 P.2d 98, 102 (Nev. 1998) (citing Frye, 103 Nev. at 301, 738 P.2d at 505). Therefore, even though the doctrine was embraced in one very narrow circumstance by the Nevada Supreme Court, that court has confirmed the holding is quite limited.
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