In re Adoption of M.
Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division
722 A.2d 615 (1998)
M. (plaintiff), adopted at age 15 by a married couple who later divorced, had a romantic relationship with her adoptive father after turning 18, resulting in a son whose paternity he acknowledged; the two wished to marry but were barred by a New Jersey law prohibiting marriage between specified family members, including adoptive parent and child, since the judgment of adoption legally established them as parent and child. M. petitioned to vacate the adoption judgment specifically as to her adoptive father to remove that legal barrier.
Whether truly exceptional circumstances justify vacating a judgment of adoption as to an adoptive father and his adult adopted daughter, where the two developed a romantic relationship after her emancipation, had a child together, and now wish to marry.