Davis v. Neilson

SPINDEN, Presiding Judge.

At issue in this case is whether six adults adopted by Robert Davis Neilson as his children — his secretary and her son, his nephew, and three friends — should be included with Neilson’s two natural children in a class of beneficiaries who receive a trust estate. The trust provided that Neilson was to benefit from the estate until he reached age 40 when the residuary was to be distributed to Neil-son’s issue. The trustee has refused to distribute the residuary to Neilson’s adopted children on the theory that the adoptions were shams. The trial court issued a summary…