Paternity/Parentage

A court makes an implicit presumed father finding when it treats a father as a presumed father. Minor was removed from Mother due to substance abuse. Father was named on Minor’s birth certificate and present at her birth but had not lived in the family home for over a year. Father appealed the jurisdictional and dispositional findings. On remand for other issues, the reviewing court ordered that the juvenile court make explicit its presumed father finding. The doctrine of implied findings presumes that the juvenile court made all implied findings to support its judgment. Here, the jurisdiction and disposition orders…

The juvenile court erred when it treated appellant as a presumed father without making an express finding that he was the presumed father. There was substantial evidence supporting an implied finding that appellant was the presumed father, and the juvenile court was therefore directed to make an explicit finding of presumed father status.

The full opinion is available on the court’s website here:

A request to set aside a voluntary declaration of paternity (VDOP) filed before January 1, 2020, is timely if filed within six months of a court making an initial order for custody, visitation, or child support based on the VDOP. Lugo signed a VDOP in 2015, but learned shortly after that he was not the biological father of Minor. In September 2023, Los Angeles County) filed a complaint against Lugo to establish child support for Minor based on the VDOP, which the trial court granted. Within six months of the child support order, Lugo filed a request to set aside…

Substantial evidence did not support a finding that Father was a Kelsey S. father where he had assaulted Mother and sent threatening messages to her during her pregnancy. X.D. was placed for adoption by Mother shortly after birth. Mother left Father two weeks after learning she was pregnant due to a domestic violence incident. Father knew that Mother was pregnant, though Mother told Father that X.D. was “not here no more.” Father did not further inquire about what had happened to X.D. Father then opposed the adoption of X.D., claiming he was a Kelsey S. father. The juvenile court found…

Family Code section 7612, subdivision (c), applies where there is an existing parent-child relationship between the child and the person seeking to be considered a third parent. M.M. and Mother were in a relationship which overlapped with Mother's relationship with T.M. When Minor was born, T.M. believed he was the father. When Minor was two years old, M.M. discovered he was the biological father of Minor. Mother did not allow M.M. to develop a relationship with Minor. M.M filed a petition to establish a parental relationship with Minor, requesting to be recognized as a third parent. The court concluded that…