In+Re+Robert+Paul

//In Re Robert Paul//, 481 N.Y.2d 652 (C.A. 1984):


 * Facts:** This is a petition for adoption by two adult males, one aged 50 and the other 57. The two males have lived together for 25 years and the older one seeks to adopt the younger. They are in a homosexual relationship and seek an adoption for social, financial and emotional reasons.
 * Issue:** Can adoption be used to give legal status to nonmarital relationships?


 * Holding by Court of Appeals:** Petition denied. Adoption is intended to create a parent-child relationship and is not meant to arrive at unreasonable or absurd results.

· The adoption laws of New York allow for parent-child relationships to be established by law and reflect the principal //adoptio naturam imitatur// (adoption imitates nature) · Adoption law is not meant to establish legal status for a nonmarital sexual relationship, whether heterosexual or homosexual. Nor is it meant to legitimize an emotional attachment that is devoid of a filial relationship · Sexual intimacy of adult partners is completely inappropriate in the context of a parent-child relationship and is inconsistent with public policy aimed at allowing adoption for the welfare of the child · Adoption was unknown at common law and is strictly a statutory creation, therefore, its legislative purpose must be strictly observed i.e. the law should be interpreted in harmony with the “fundamental social concept that the relationship of parent and child may be established” · While there are no restrictions on adult adoptions under New York adoption law, the legislature did not intend for it to arrive at an unreasonable or absurd result · The courts should not allow for the creation of such legal status under the rubric of adoption; it is up to the legislature, as a matter of State public policy, to allow for legal status to be given to a nonmatrimonial relationship. · Under the law, the relationship of parent and child is not a condition precedent to adoption but rather the result of adoption · Had the legislature wanted to place restrictions on the types of adult adoptions to be allowed it could have, but because there are no such restrictions in place it is not up to the courts to interpret the statute as having such restrictions · Contrary to the majority opinion that the adoption statute must be strictly construed, it has in fact been liberally and beneficially applied in the past
 * Reasoning:**
 * Dissent:**