Adoption of adult partner upheld by Maine Supreme Court

A decision by the Maine Supreme Court last week, in an inheritance dispute of considerable value involving a very large trust set up by one of the founders of IBM for the benefit of his descendants, the Court ruled that an adult adoption of a same-sex partner was legitimate.  The issue largely centered on whether the adoptee-partner was "a descendant" and part of the trust beneficiary class who could gain a share of the substantial trust. According to the Court, she is.