173 A.2d 102
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.May 1, 1961.
July 17, 1961.
Decedents’ estates — Adoptive child — Collateral relative — Rights of inheritance — French law — Conflict of laws — Status — Adopted child as distributee — Restatement, Conflict of Laws.
1. Where it appeared that decedent died intestate, a domiciliary of France, and it appeared that decedent’s brother, who died in 1918, adopted the claimant in 1913 when she was 20 years of age; and it further appeared that under the basic adoption law of France claimant had no right to share in the estate of her adoptive father’s sister, and that under French law the adoption status of a person adopted under French law prior to 1941 could not change in any manner after the enactment of the 1941 law, which does permit an adopted child to inherit from its adoptive parent’s collateral relative, it was Held that (1) French law rules the determination of the claimant’s right to an intestate share of decedent’s personalty located in Pennsylvania, (2) claimant does not qualify as a child adopted under the Legitimating Adoption Law of France, under which law alone an adopted child can inherit from a collateral relative of its adoptive parent, and (3) claimant is not entitled to any share of the decedent’s estate.
2. The law of the state of the decedent’s domicil determines whether an adopted child can take a distributive share from or through or transmit it to or through a collateral relation: Restatement, Conflict of Laws, § 305, comment c.
3. If the law of the state of the decedent’s domicil does not allow an adopted child to take a distributive share, he cannot do so, although the law of the state of adoption or of the state where a chattel is would allow him to take: Restatement, Conflict of Laws, § 305, comment b.
Argued May 1, 1961. Before JONES, C. J., BELL, MUSMANNO, JONES, COHEN, BOK and EAGEN, JJ.
Appeal, No. 216, Jan. T., 1961, from decree of Orphans’ Court of Philadelphia County, No. 2627 of 1955, in re estate of Augusta N. Dreer, deceased. Decree affirmed; reargument refused July 31, 1961.
Audit of account. Before BOLGER, J.
Adjudication filed confirming account, exceptions to adjudication dismissed and decree entered, before
Page 369
KLEIN, P. J., BOLGER, LEFEVER, SAYLOR and SHOYER, JJ., opinion by SAYLOR, J.; dissenting opinion by SHOYER, J., in which LEFEVER, J., joined. Claimant appealed.
Lewis H. Van Dusen, Jr., with him John E. Walsh, and Drinker, Biddle Reath, for appellant.
Thomas S. Weary, with him Maurice Heckscher, and Nicholas R. Doman, of the New York Bar, and Duane, Morris Heckscher, for appellees.
OPINION PER CURIAM, July 17, 1961:
The Decree is affirmed on the able Opinion of Judge SAYLOR which is reported in 22 Pa. D. C.2d 737.
Costs to be paid one-half by appellant and one-half by appellee.