Opinion ID: 1941403
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Fleet's Petition

Text: In late 2002, Fleet, in its capacity as trustee of the Hadley Trusts, petitioned the Superior Court seeking instructions about the proper construction of language used in these trusts and instructions relative to the proper distribution of funds under these instruments. Specifically, Fleet informed the court that uncertainties in Rhode Island law with respect to the inheritance rights of adopted adult children, coupled with ambiguities in the language of the trusts, compelled it to seek the court's instructions to avoid liability in distributing the trusts' assets. The respondents, all parties who asserted an interest in the trusts, are as follows: (1) Janet Hunt and Lucille Foster, the adopted children of Thomas Hadley; (2) Marcia Hanrahan, the executrix and a potential beneficiary of Sarah Hadley's estate; (3) Cynthia Gay, a potential beneficiary of Sarah Hadley's estate; [2] (4) Allyson Gay, Wendy Gay, Robert Seeley, Diana Robertson, Suzanne Beyer, Cynthia Gay, Sheila Gay Franklin, Ronald Gay, Wylma Cooley, Stephen Gay, and Nancy Miller, all potential beneficiaries of Art Hadley's estate; (5) Stephen R. Lucas, Donald J. Lucas, Jeffrey C. Lucas, Fay C. Drummond, Raymond J. Harrison, [3] R. Carol Justice, Clair Perry, Elizabeth Robinson, Brigette Young, Sigrid J. Reddon, Sharon Glover, Eugene E. Perry II, Jane Cranston, [4] and S. Bruce Allsop, all potential beneficiaries of Frances Hadley's estate (collectively respondents). On March 9, 2005, the Superior Court issued a written opinion in which it concluded that this Court's opinion in Tinney v. Tinney, 799 A.2d 235, 237-38 (R.I.2002), made it clear that under Rhode Island's intestacy laws, there is no distinction between adult adoptees and minor adoptees. Therefore, under Rhode Island's intestacy laws adult adoptees are deemed heirs of their adoptive parents, as if they were their natural children. Adhering to this principle, the Superior Court ruled that Thomas Hadley's two adopted daughters, Janet Hunt and Lucille Foster, stood to inherit under the failure provision of the Art Hadley Living Trust. With respect to the Art Hadley Testamentary Trust, however, the Superior Court ruled that Janet Hunt and Lucille Foster were not lawfully the issue of Thomas Hadley and were, therefore, not entitled to the amount specifically designated for Thomas Hadley's issue under the trust. Dissatisfied with the Superior Court's ruling, every respondent, with the exception of Janet Hunt and Lucille Foster, appealed to this Court. Before the matter reached this Court for briefing and argument, all parties  except appellants  agreed upon the appropriate settlement of all matters raised by Fleet's petition through this Court's Appellate Mediation Program. Accordingly, a distribution order was entered, providing the settling parties with a fixed percentage of the settlement corpus. Pursuant to the order, an amount equal to the maximum amount claimed by appellants was set aside, in the event that either of these two parties prevailed on appeal. With many of these matters disposed of, the only question remaining before this Court on appeal is the interpretation of the two trusts in which appellants Ronald Gay and Wylma Cooley claim an interest.