## Facts

- Richard Sorrels (age 66) petitioned the Delaware Family Court to adopt James A. Swanson (age 51), his companion of 17 years.
- The stated purposes were to formalize their close emotional relationship and to facilitate estate planning.
- They sought to reduce inheritance taxes available to children under Delaware law and to limit collateral claims by remote relatives.
- The parties conceded there was no preexisting parent-child relationship between them.
- The Family Court denied the petition, concluding on its own initiative that an adult adoption required a preexisting family or parent-child relationship.

## Issues

1. Whether Delaware’s adult adoption statutes, 13 Del. C. §§ 951–956, require a preexisting parent-child relationship as a condition of an adult adoption.
2. Whether the Family Court may deny an otherwise compliant adult adoption petition by adding a prerequisite not stated in the statute.

## Decision

- The Delaware Supreme Court reversed the Family Court’s denial of the adoption petition.
- The court held that the adult adoption statutes do not require a preexisting parent-child relationship.
- The court concluded the Family Court committed an error of law by appending an extra-statutory condition to adult adoption.
- The case was remanded for further proceedings consistent with the opinion.

## Legal Principles

- When a statute is unambiguous, courts must apply its terms as written and may not judicially add substantive prerequisites.
- Under 13 Del. C. § 953, if the petition complies with statutory requirements and the adult to be adopted appears and consents, the court’s discretion to grant or deny must operate within statutory limits and applicable public policy, not newly invented eligibility conditions.
- Adult adoption may be used for inheritance and estate-planning objectives absent a statutory prohibition or a countervailing public policy.
- Public policy can constrain adult adoptions in extreme cases, but the absence of a preexisting parent-child relationship, by itself, is not a sufficient basis to deny an adult adoption under Delaware’s statutory scheme.

## Conclusion

Delaware’s adult adoption statutes permit one consenting adult to adopt another without any requirement of a preexisting parent-child relationship, and a trial court errs as a matter of law by denying an adult adoption petition based on that extra-statutory condition.


In re Adoption of Swanson, 623 A.2d 1095 (Del. 1993)