In Re Fahlman

California Court of Appeal Jun 29, 1927 No. Docket No. 3279.Published

Before: Plummer

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Holding. The court held that adoption statutes do not grant preferential rights to relatives, and that the trial court's determination regarding the best interests and welfare of the minor is subject to broad judicial discretion that will not be disturbed absent a clear abuse of that discretion.

Issues

Whether relatives are entitled to a preference in adoption proceedings under California law.
Whether the trial court abused its discretion in granting an adoption petition to non-relatives over the opposition of grandparents.
Whether the failure to interrogate an eleven-year-old child during an adoption hearing constitutes grounds for reversal.

Disposition. affirmed

Quotations verified verbatim against the opinion

“the legislature has scrupulously refrained from giving preferential rights to anyone, it would simply be a matter of judicial legislation for an appellate court to do so.”

“the future welfare of the minor is the only matter for consideration. Under such circumstances, the legislature has left such determination to the judicial discretion of the trial court.”

PLUMMER, J.

This is a matter before the court upon an appeal from an order of adoption made in the above-entitled matter, whereby the petition of Walter S. Joy and Annia Joy, his wife, for the adoption of said minor, was granted.

The transcript shows that on or about September, 1924, the father of said minor, Carl E. Fahlman, died in the county of Merced, state of California, leaving said minor daughter of the age of ten years. After the death of said Carl E. Fahlman, F. 0. Burlin and Sophia Burlin, maternal grandparents of said minor, applied to the superior court of the county of Merced for letters of guardianship of the person and estate of said minor. At about the same time Oscar Fahlman, a brother of said Carl Fahlman, deceased, applied to the same court for letters of guardianship. The two petitions for letters of guardianship for said minor came on for hearing in said superior court in the month of October, 1924, and the hearing of said petitions was regularly continued from time to time until about April 27, 1925. On the latter date, Walter S. Joy and Annia Joy, his wife, filed a pétition in the superior court of Merced County seeking an order of said court permitting their adoption of said minor child. Notice of this hearing was regularly given and notice was also given to the said F. 0. Burlin and Sophia Burlin. The hearing of the petition for adoption was set for May 8, 1925. At said hearing F. 0.

[250]

Burlin and Sophia Burlin appeared and filed an opposition to the granting of the petition for adoption theretofore filed by the said Walter S. Joy and Annia Joy. Between the date of the filing of the petition by Walter S. Joy and Annia Joy, his wife, for the adoption of said minor and the hearing thereof, the said F. 0. Burlin and Sophia Burlin filed a like petition in the superior court of the county of Stanislaus, praying for an order permitting their adoption of said minor. This petition, however, was not before the superior court of the county of Merced, and we have only to do with the petition filed by Walter S. Joy and Annia Joy, and the opposition filed thereto by F. 0. Burlin and Sophia Burlin. At the conclusion of the hearing upon the petition filed for the adoption of said minor by Walter S. Joy and Annia John, the court made its order granting the same, and from this order F. 0. Burlin and Sophia Burlin appeal.

In Re Fahlman

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PLUMMER, J.

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