Dampier v. Williams, 493 S.W.3d 118 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2016, no pet.).
After Intestate died, Tracy claimed that he was
Intestate’s sole heir as his adopted by estoppel son. The trial court
rejected Tracy’s claim because the alleged acts of estoppel occurred
after Tracy reached age eighteen. Tracy appealed.
The appellate court affirmed. The court recognized
that Tracy and Intestate had a very close father-son relationship for
over thirty years. However, the relationship started when Tracy was an
adult so there was never a legal impediment to a formal adoption. And,
of course, Intestate could have executed a will in Tracy’s favor.
Accordingly, Intestate’s unperformed oral promise to adopt Tracy did not
operate to create a parent-child relationship by estoppel. Every Texas
case where adoption by estoppel was deemed to exist involved a child who
was a minor at the time the adoption by estoppel acts occurred.
Moral: An adult may not be adopted by
estoppel.