Board of Education of Montgomery County v. Browning

Eleanor Hamilton died intestate and without any known heirs. Under Maryland law, an estate without heirs escheats to the board of education in the county where the decedent had lived. The Board of Education of Montgomery County (the board) (defendant) claimed an interest in Hamilton’s estate. Paula Browning (plaintiff), who had been appointed administrator of Hamilton’s estate, contested the board’s interest based on her relationship to Hamilton. Browning’s natural father, Lawrence Hutchinson, had married Marian Gibson, Hamilton’s sister, but Gibson never legally adopted Browning. Browning nevertheless claimed an interest in Hamilton’s estate. Browning moved for summary judgment, arguing that Gibson had equitably adopted her because Gibson had raised Browning as her own child and told Browning that she had adopted her. Browning argued that as the equitably adopted child of Hamilton’s sister, Browning had the strongest claim to Hamilton’s estate because Hamilton had no other heirs and escheat is usually a last resort when no heirs can be found. The board moved to dismiss Browning’s complaint, arguing that an equitably adopted child cannot inherit from her equitably adoptive mother’s sister. The probate court granted summary judgment for Browning, holding that she could inherit Hamilton’s estate as a collateral heir, and denied the board’s motion to dismiss. The board appealed to the intermediate appellate court. The court of appeals granted certiorari to determine whether an equitably adopted child may inherit from her equitably adoptive parent’s sibling under Maryland’s intestacy statutes.