Legal Quandary

A New Twist on an Old Joke

From a law review article on Intestacy Law, in the section entitled "Adoption of a Spouse."

Kentucky courts apparently have more experience with spousal adoption than do courts in other states. Although the earlies reported Kentucky decision upheld an adoption made to ensure that the adoptee/wife would inherit under class gift language in the will of a third party, the courts in later cases refused to recognize such adoptions made merely to manufacture the adoptee's membership in a class for gift purposes. Reported cases from other jurisdictions in recent years havce also refused to acknowledge or give effect to the adoption of a spouse when the parties to the adoption were attempting primarily to manipulate gifts from third parties.

Likewise, the Uniform Adoption Act specifically prohibits an adult from adopting his or her spouse. This approach, which comports with recent decisions on the subject is not surprisingly unwarrented. The Supreme Court once stated that marriage creates "the most important relation in life." To recognize a parent-child relationship between a husband and wife is instinctively disturbing and confusing because the presumed sexual relationship between the couple is anathema when we view the individuals as mother-son or father-daughter.

Children and Inheritance in the Nontraditional Family by Ralph Brashier, 1996 Utah L. Rev. 93

Of course, begging the question - if a man divorces his wife, is she still his daughter?

posted by Legal Quandary at 17:45