To establish an equitable adoption, there is a "critical need for an agreement to adopt." In re Estate of Castellano, 456 N.J. Super. 510, 517 (App. Div. 2018) (emphasis added), certif. denied, 237 N.J. 186 (2019); see also In re Adoption of a Child by N.E.Y., 267 N.J. Super. 88, 97 (Ch. Div. 1993) (explaining "[e]quitable adoption is established when it is shown that the decedent agreed to adopt the child, the natural parent acted in reliance, and the child was treated as a child of the decedent, but there was no legal adoption" (quoting Kupec v. Cooper, 593 So. 2d 1176, 1177 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1987))).