Other Cases Affecting Children

In re Liam L. (2000) 84 Cal.App.4th 739 [101 Cal.Rptr.2d 13]. Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division 1.

The juvenile court determined that a man was the presumed father of a child in a dependency case based solely on the fact that he had signed a voluntary declaration of paternity.

One day after the child was born, the child underwent a colostomy surgery. The next day, both the mother and the man signed a voluntary declaration of paternity at the hospital on a form prepared by the Health and Welfare Agency of the California Department of Social Services ("the Agency"). The mother and the man did not have stable housing and missed training sessions to teach them colostomy care. A Welfare and Institutions Code section 300(b) petition was filed because the mother and the man were unable to provide for the child's medical needs. The mother was married to another man, the presumed father by marriage, but efforts to locate him were unsuccessful.

At the jurisdiction hearing, the court found the first man (to whom the mother was not married) to be the presumed father based on the signed declaration of paternity. Because this resulted in two presumed fathers, the court conducted a hearing under Family Code section 7612(b), found the first man to be the sole presumed father, and entered a paternity judgment in his favor. The child was placed in a foster home, and reunification services were ordered for the mother and presumed father. The agency appealed, claiming that the man was not entitled to presumed father status in a dependency proceeding merely because he had signed a voluntary declaration of paternity in compliance with Family Code section 7570 et seq.

The Court of Appeal determined that the juvenile court was proper in declaring the male signatory of a voluntary declaration of paternity to be the presumed father in a dependency proceeding. Section 7570(b) states that the state has a compelling interest in allowing for voluntary declarations of paternity so that there would be an increase in paternity establishment, an increase in the number of children with access to child support and benefits, and a decrease in the need for establishing paternity through the lengthy and expensive court process. The mother and the man signed a voluntary declaration of paternity two days after the child's birth. The declaration stated that it gave the father parental rights such as the right to seek custody and visitation through court action and to be consulted about the child's adoption. Declarations signed by the parents and filed with the Department of Social Services establish the paternity of a child with the same force and effect as a judgment of paternity issued by a court, and the voluntary declaration of paternity is recognized as a basis for the establishment of an order for child custody, visitation, and child support. (Fam.Code, § 7573).

For a man to become a presumed father, he must fall within one of the categories of Family Code section 7611. The Legislature amended section 7611 in 1994 to provide that a man will become a presumed father if he meets the conditions of section 7570, which includes establishment of paternity by voluntary declaration. A father who has established paternity by a voluntary declaration in compliance with section 7570 et seq. is entitled to the status of a presumed father.