Adult adoptees inherited despite stepfather’s will

Trial Notebook

By Steven P. Garmisa

Hoey & Farina

Posted June 1, 2023 11:23 AM

Ray B. Johnson relied on a “subterfuge” exception to the law on adult-adoptions in arguing that his late brother Glen E. Johnson’s four stepchildren weren’t entitled to override Glen’s will and inherit from his estate.Glen had no children in 2001 when he executed a will that bequeathed all his property to Ray. The brothers had matching wills, according to Ray, so that the survivor could continue operating the family farm. But Glen married Patricia Johnson in 2004, adopted her four adult children in 2012 and died in 2020 …

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