Adler v. Moran

CADENA, Justice.

This case involves the application of the doctrine of equitable adoption or, as it is sometimes called, adoption by estoppel. Lester Adler, defendant below, appeals from a judgment, based on jury findings, awarding plaintiffs, Victor Moran, Jr., Xó-chitl Moran Hernandez, Rene Moran, and Yolanda Moran Couler, an undivided one-half interest in certain land located in Laredo, Webb County, Texas. The judgment is based on the theory that, under the doctrine of equitable adoption, plaintiffs inherited the interest of their stepmother, Ramona Guevara Moran, who died intestate in 1959.