A grandniece filed a caveat to her great-aunt’s will, alleging that she had been equitably adopted after the will was made. The probate court admitted the will to probate, but held that the grandniece was entitled to an intestate share as a child under state law which revokes a will on the testator’s marriage, the birth of a child to the testator, or the testator’s adoption of a child, to the extent necessary to give the child or spouse an intestate share. In Johnson v. Rogers, the Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed admission of the will to probate but reversed the award of the intestate share, holding that the doctrine of equitable (or virtual) adoption is relevant only when the alleged adoptive parent dies intestate.
Special thanks to William LaPiana (Professor of Law, New York Law School) for bringing this case to my attention.
