Bean v. Ford

Terrold Bean was placed in foster care with Mr. and Mrs. Ford at age two and lived with them throughout childhood, though the Fords never formally adopted him. Mrs. Ford once told a friend she and her husband wanted to adopt Bean but feared he'd be moved to another foster home during the adoption process. Bean stayed close to Mr. Ford until Mr. Ford's death. Ford's niece and nephew then petitioned to determine how his estate should be distributed; Bean claimed a share as an equitably adopted child. California probate law lets a foster or step-parent count as a legal parent for inheritance if there was a lasting parent-child relationship and a legal barrier prevented formal adoption, without limiting the separate equitable-adoption doctrine. The trial court found no equitable adoption because there was no evidence the Fords actually intended to adopt Bean, and the court of appeal affirmed.