7 Haw. 273 | Haw. | 1888
Opinion of the Court, by
This is a submission under Sections 1140, 1141, 1142 and 1143 of the Civil Code.
The submission states that on the sixteenth day of June, 1883, an agreement was made and signed by C. W. Clark as adopting parent, and Harriet Dwight, widow, the mother of the plaintiff
By the Court.
It appears by the adoption agreement annexed to the submission, that it was acknowledged by C. W. Clark and Harriet Dwight before the Chief Justice on the third day of August, 1883, but was not recorded until the ninth day of December, 1887, after the death of C. W. Clark.
It is contended on behalf of the defendants, that the agreement is not valid on the ground that it was not recorded during the lifetime of the said C. W. Clark.
Section 1263 of the Civil Code provides that, among other documents therein mentioned, “ agreements of adoption shall, in order to their validity, be recorded in the office of the Registrar
We think that the contention made by the counsel on behalf of the defendants is a sound one, and therefore declare that the agreement of adoption referred to in the submission, not having been recorded during the lifetime of the said C. W. Clark, is invalid in law, and consequently the plaintiff J. G. Dwight is not entitled, as one of the “ surviving children ” of C. W. Clark, to any share in the said insurance money.
Having thus decided that the adoption is invalid, it is unnecessary to pass upon the other points raised by counsel for the parties.
Judgment must be entered for the defendants, with costs.