Foster children generally cannot inherit from foster parents

SAN FRANCISCO - Foster children generally are not entitled to any share of the estate of their dead foster parents, the California Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday. The court, in clarifying foster children's rights, said there could be an inheritance only if it is spelled out in a will or if there was overwhelming evidence the foster parents intended to adopt before they died. The case the justices decided concerned an Oakland man who was taken in as a foster child by a family when he was nearly two and stayed beyond his 18th birthday. He claimed he should share in the $600,000 estate, in which his foster parents' estranged niece and nephew are claiming. The justices found no legal basis for Terrold Bean, 50, to get a piece of the pie that Arthur and Kathleen Ford left behind without a will directing where the estate should go. When that happens, only blood relatives can claim a share, the court said. Since Bean was not adopted, he was not a legally recognized family member and therefore not entitled to a claim of inheritance, the justices said. "Although the evidence showed the Fords and Bean enjoyed a close and enduring familial relationship, evidence was totally lacking that the Ford's ever made an attempt to adopt Bean or promised or stated their intent to do so," Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar wrote for the majority. The court said that, unless there was clear evidence that the Ford family had planned on adopting Bean, who is a butcher, he cannot be given any part of the estate "to guard against fraudulent claims." That court said "lips of the alleged adopter have been sealed by death." Thomas Williams, the attorney representing the niece and nephew - who are the only blood relatives claiming the estate of their San Francisco aunt and uncle - said the unanimous decision "was a piece of cake." "This is a very sacred right to leave your estate to your family whether you have a will or not," Williams said. "Claiming something against a dead man and he can't be there to defend himself, you better have clear and convincing proof." Patrick Sullivan, Bean's attorney, said his client had been closely involved with the Fords his whole life, until the death of Arthur Ford, who had survived his wife, Kathleen. Bean, Williams said, should be entitled to make a claim. Bean helped with the Fords' finances and was involved with decisions regarding Arthur Ford's life support while he was in a convalescent home. "It was a relationship a father has with his son," Sullivan said. "Mr. Bean was there every holiday." Bean did not return calls seeking comment. The case is Estate of Arthur Patrick Ford, S105508.