§60.02 Background

• Jurisdiction: Washington

§ 60.02 BACKGROUND

Laws relating to adoption can be found as far back as 2000 B.C. A high mortality rate for children, coupled with the desire to perpetuate one's family name, provided the context in which adoption developed in ancient times as a social practice.

The Romans, in particular, developed the first known Western legal procedure for adoption, which allowed the adopted child to gain full legal status and recognition as if he or she were the birth child of the adoptive parents. The states in this country that were influenced by Roman law, e.g., Louisiana, had no difficulty in establishing and recognizing adoption laws. By contrast, those states with a common-law background were much slower to pass adoption laws. A reluctance to recognize the legality of adoption can be traced to the English insistence that only legitimate children, who were heirs by blood, could inherit or succeed to the family estate.

In those states with a common-law background, adoption statutes began to be established in the mid-1800s. Washington's first adoption statutes appeared in 1891 and provided for the adoption of children who had no parents, who were abandoned, or whose parent was "hopelessly insane" or a "confirmed drunkard." Washington's current adoption statute is set forth at Chapter 26.33 RCW and emphasizes the child's welfare by specifically articulating a standard for adoption cases where "[t]he guiding principle must be determining what is in the best interest of the child." RCW 26.33.010.

The evolution of adoption law has been informed by the manner in which Washington courts have chosen to apply principles of statutory construction. In earlier guiding cases, courts held that because adoption statutes are in derogation of the common law, there must be strict compliance with statutory provisions. See, e.g., Parsons v. Stout, 76 Wn.2d 437, 457 P.2d 544 (1969). This statement, however, must be read in light of the declared statutory intent of determining what is in the best interest of the child.

A well-reasoned discussion regarding the construction of Washington's adoption statutes is found in In re Application of Santore, 28 Wn. App. 319, 623 P.2d 702, review denied, 95 Wn.2d 1019 (1981). In this case, a preplacement report was not verified, and the petitioner had not filed a sworn statement that all preplacement reports were filed prior to relinquishment hearings. The Santore court stated:

Although adoption statutes, being in derogation of the common law,

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