Estate of Furia

Steve H. Spiegelman, for Claimant and Appellant.

Does an equitably adopted child have a right to inherit the property of her testate "grandparent," whose will directs that her property shall go to the "surviving issue" of her own children? We hold that she does not. The doctrine of equitable adoption creates a contractual right to receive property, but it does not convey to the equitable child all the rights of an heir under the Probate Code. The trial court denied Nanette Ann Furia Cameron's heirship petition, which sought to establish a right to inherit from the estate of her step-grandmother, and we affirm.

The facts are undisputed. Nanette Ann Leach (Nanette [1] ) was born in 1952. When she was two, her parents divorced, and her biological father severed all ties with her. When she was four, her mother married Quinto Furia, Jr. (Quinto Jr.), and Nanette became known as Nanette Ann Furia.

Quinto Jr. began adoption proceedings in 1957, but discontinued them when Nanette's biological father could not be located. Instead, Nanette was given a Roman Catholic baptism as Nanette Ann Furia. Quinto Jr. raised Nanette as his daughter, and they continued to treat each…