Ramsay v. Lane

COLEMAN, Chief Justice.

This suit was instituted as an action to determine heirship. The only question involved is whether an adoption by estoppel has been established. After a trial to the court without a jury a judgment was entered finding that Jo Ann Patterson Lane was the adopted daughter of Victor William Durham, deceased, and his sole heir at law.

James and Geraldine Patterson were the parents of two daughters, Jo Ann and Vivian. Soon after the birth of Jo Ann, Mrs. Patterson abandoned the family and moved to California. James and the children lived with his mother until her death. At…