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Johnson v. Johnson9/14/2000
urt declined to extend equitable adoption to allow a child to sue based on the alleged wrongful death of his stepfather. The stepfather, Norman Otero, married the mother of John Otero when John was five-and-one-half years old. Id. at 356. When John turned sixteen, he legally changed his surname to Otero. Id. Norman Otero "cared for and raised John with great love and affection." Id. Norman Otero "performed the duties of a father, including coaching John's sports teams, leading John's 4-H activities, and attending teachers' meetings, first communion, and other important events in John's life." Id.
[ ] Notwithstanding the fact that Norman and John Otero were together for over ten years, effectively as father and son, the court concluded "strict limitations on recognition of equitable adoption remain justified" under modern scrutiny. Id. at 360.
[ ] The court stated the formality of court-approved adoptions, as provided by statute, are advantageous. Id. This formality provides "certainty in the law. If proof of a loving relationship can by itself entitle a person to the benefits of being a child under the law, one could anticipate frequent litigation in which parties dispute the intimacies of family life." Id. "In addition, the statutory adoption procedure is designed to protect children from being adopted by unsuitable persons." Id. (citations omitted). "Unconstrained recognition of equitable adoption would undermine this legislative purpose, making compliance with the statutory procedures unnecessary, and even unattractive, for prospective parents." Id. "Finally, statutory adoption, as opposed to an informal procedure, clarifies the rights and obligations of the natural parents who may be supplanted by the adoptive parent." Id. at 360-61 (citation omitted).
[ ] Because Otero was a tort case, the court found it particularly problematic to apply the doctrine of equitable adoption. Id. at 361-62. Likewise, the court found it particularly problematic that the relationship of stepparent-stepchild was involved and stated, "that relationship calls for particular circumspection before recognizing an equitable adoption." Id. at 362. The court stated the doctrine of equitable adoption is seldom used by courts in this context because "it is in the public interest for stepparents to be generous and loving with their stepchildren. Such conduct could be discouraged if a consequence of such kindness toward a stepchild would be the imposition on the stepparent of the legal incidents of parenthood, such as the duty to provide child support after divorce or a reallocation of the stepparent's estate after death." Id. (citations omitted).
[ ] "When the alleged adopter is the child's stepparent the courts almost invariably find the proof insufficient on the grounds that the conduct of the parties was as consistent with the normal stepparent-stepchild relationship as it was with the contract to adopt." Id. (citing Jan Ellen Rein, Relatives by Blood Adoption, and Association: Who Should Get What and Why, 37 Vand. L. Rev. 711, 781-82 (1984)).
[ ] The Otero court stated "although Norman expressed an interest in adopting John shortly after the marriage, he never did so." Id. at 363. Standing alone, Antonyio Johnson's prior interest in adopting Jessica Clayton and his efforts to do so, as well as his efforts to harmonize the marital family, do not amount to an adoption.
IV.
[ ] The majority also fails to recognize that it is the law of either Kentucky or New Jersey-not the law of North Dakota-that should be applied to determine whether an adoption has occurred. This state will recognize a valid adoption of another jurisdiction as long as the rendering cou
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