In Re the Probate of the Alleged Will of Holibaugh

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Heher, J.

The question raised here, res nova in New Jersey, is whether the descent and distribution of the property of an adopted adult is governed by the statute in force when the decree of adoption is entered or at the time of the adopted person’s death.

On September 16, 1949, by a decree entered in the old Monmouth County Orphan’s Court, a tribunal of competent jurisdiction, one John Bennett adopted Emma L. Holibaugh, then of the age of 56, pursuant to R. S. 1937, 2:39-1 et seq. The adoptive parent died March 2, 1950, leaving a will designating the…