Case Title: Rist v. Taylor

Citation: 

Docket Number: 

State: wyoming

Court: Wyoming Supreme Court

Date: 1998-03-23T00:00:00Z

Document:
Rist v. Taylor1998 WY 36955 P.2d 436Case Number: 97-200Decided: 03/23/1998Supreme Court of Wyoming

Mike 
RIST, Appellant (Defendant),

v.

James P. TAYLOR, f/k/a James Pfleeger Rouane, 
Appellee (Plaintiff).

 

Appeal from The District Court of Park County, Hunter 
Patrick, J.

 

Greg L. Goddard of Goddard, 
Perry & Vogel, Buffalo; and John P. LaBuda of Palmer & LaBuda, P.C., 
Rock Springs, for Appellant.

Cole Bormuth of Bormuth 
& Freeman, Cody, for Appellee.

 

Before TAYLOR, C.J., and 
THOMAS, MACY, GOLDEN and LEHMAN, JJ.

 

MACY, Justice.

 [¶1] Appellant Mike Rist appeals from the order which 
directed him to return estate property to Appellee James Taylor after the 
district court found that Taylor was the adopted son of James Patrick Rouane and 
was entitled to possess Rouane's estate by intestate 
succession.

 

[¶2] We reverse and 
remand.

 

                                              
ISSUE

 

[¶3] Rist presents a single 
issue for our review:

 

May an adopted child who is subsequently adopted by 
another adult when all parental rights of the first adoptive parent have been 
judicially terminated inherit by intestate succession from the first adoptive 
parent?

 

                       
UNDISPUTED MATERIAL FACTS AND COURSE OF PROCEEDINGS

 

[¶4] During their marriage, 
Rouane and Taylor's mother adopted Taylor. Taylor's mother subsequently divorced 
Rouane and married Sammy Ray Taylor (Sammy), who adopted Taylor on August 25, 
1989, after Rouane relinquished his parental right to Taylor and consented to 
the adoption. Rouane died intestate on October 20, 1994. After Rouane's death, 
Rist, who was Rouane's nephew, took possession of a pickup and various other 
personal property which belonged to the decedent.

 

[¶5] On April 3, 1996, 
Taylor filed a complaint, alleging that he was the adopted son and the sole and 
only heir of Rouane and that he was, therefore, entitled to have his father's 
property, which was in Rist's possession. Rist filed his answer, denying that he 
wrongfully possessed the property and praying for dismissal of the complaint, 
for attorney's fees, and for costs. Rist also concurrently filed a counterclaim, 
asserting that, if Taylor is the sole heir of Rouane and entitled to the 
distribution of his estate, Rist should be reimbursed for Rouane's funeral 
expenses and for the expenses he incurred in towing and storing the 
pickup.

 

[¶6] On July 17, 1996, 
Taylor filed his motion for a summary judgment, alleging that no genuine issue 
existed as to any material fact and that he was entitled to have a summary 
judgment as a matter of law. He argued that, pursuant to the laws of intestate 
succession, he was entitled to inherit Rouane's estate because he was Rouane's 
sole surviving child by virtue of his adoption by Rouane.

 

[¶7] On March 3, 1997, Rist 
filed his motion for a summary judgment, also alleging that no genuine issue as 
to any material fact existed and that he was entitled to have a summary judgment 
as a matter of law because Taylor was not the adopted child of Rouane at the 
time of Rouane's death. Rist contended that Taylor's subsequent adoption by 
Sammy terminated all Taylor's legal and parental ties with 
Rouane.

 

[¶8] On March 17, 1997, the 
district court heard Taylor's motion for a summary judgment and found that no 
genuine issue of material fact precluded the granting of his motion; that Taylor 
was the adopted son of Rouane; that, pursuant to WYO. STAT. § 2-4-107(a)(i) 
(1997), he was entitled to have the same rights as a natural child of Rouane 
would have; that, pursuant to the laws of intestate succession, Taylor was the 
proper distributee of Rouane's estate; that Rist had wrongfully claimed the 
assets which belonged to Rouane and was not entitled to have possession thereof; 
and that Rist was not entitled to be reimbursed for costs associated with 
hauling and storing Rouane's 
pickup.

 

[¶9] On June 4, 1997, the 
district court ordered Rist to deliver the pickup to Taylor and directed each 
party to bear his own costs and attorney's fees. The district court did not make 
a finding or order which pertained to whether or not Rist was entitled to be 
reimbursed for the money he advanced toward Rouane's funeral 
expenses.

 

                                       
STANDARD OF REVIEW

 

[¶10] There being no 
material fact in dispute, the question presented in this case is one of law. We 
do not accord special deference to the district court's decisions on matters of 
law. Nylen v. Dayton, 770 P.2d 1112, 1114 (Wyo. 1989).

 

                                           
DISCUSSION

 

[¶11] The issue presented in 
this case is an issue of first impression for this Court. The few jurisdictions 
having statutes functionally equivalent to ours which permit an adopted child to 
inherit from both the natural parents and the first adopting parent have arrived 
at differing results with regard to whether or not a second adoption cuts off 
the adopted child's right to inherit from the first adoptive parent. Taylor 
urges us to follow the jurisdictions which have allowed an adopted child to 
inherit from the first adoptive parent even though he was later adopted by a 
second adoptive parent. See, e.g., Brewster v. Hall (In re Egley's Estate), 16 Wn.2d 681, 134 P.2d 943 (1943) (en 
banc). These jurisdictions reason that an adopted child's rights were fixed when 
the adoption occurred and that a child's right to inherit from an adoptive 
parent cannot be taken away by a subsequent adoption. Id.

 

[¶12] Rist, of course, 
implores us to follow the reasoning of the jurisdictions which hold that a child 
who has been adopted by a second adoptive parent cannot inherit by intestate 
succession from the first adoptive parent. See, e.g., Quintrall v. Goldsmith, 
134 Colo. 410, 306 P.2d 246 (1957) (en banc); Bailey v. Luckey, 206 Neb. 53, 291 N.W.2d 235 (1980); Harris v. Burgess (In re Talley's Estate), 188 Okla. 338, 109 P.2d 495 (1941). These jurisdictions conclude that, when a child has been 
adopted a second time, a parent-child relationship no longer exists between him 
and his first adoptive parent and that, having lost this relationship, the child 
does not have a predicate upon which to base the conclusion that he should 
thereafter inherit from his first adoptive parent the same as if he had been the 
adoptive parent's natural child. Bailey, 291 N.W.2d  at 238; Harris, 109 P.2d  at 
498.

 

[¶13] Section 2-4-107(a)(i) 
provides:

 

(a) If for purposes of intestate succession, a 
relationship of parent and child shall be established to determine succession 
by, through or from a person:

 

(i) An adopted person is the child of an adopting 
parent and of the natural parents for inheritance purposes only. The adoption of 
a child by the spouse of a natural parent has no effect on the relationship 
between the child and that natural parent[.]

 

The clear language of this 
statute allows an adopted child to inherit from his adoptive parent. This 
statute, standing by itself, does not, however, answer the dispositive question 
of whether or not the relationship between the child and the adoptive parent 
must exist at the time of the adoptive parent's death. Our rules of descent 
provide that only those persons who are the heirs at law at the time of death of 
an individual who dies intestate are entitled to succeed to his estate. WYO. 
STAT. § 2-4-101 (1997). Taylor was not the adopted child of Rouane at the time 
of Rouane's death. Rouane relinquished his parental right to Taylor and 
consented to Taylor being adopted by Sammy. We join the ranks of our sister 
states and hold that the second adoption terminated the parent-child 
relationship between Rouane and Taylor for inheritance purposes and that Rist 
was, therefore, an heir at law of Rouane.

 

[¶14] Reversed and remanded 
for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.