I.S. v. G.C.S. (In Re Adoption of K.C.)

Filed 6/10/16 CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION SIX

Adoption of K.C., a Minor. 2d Civil No. B265157 (Super. Ct. No. 1469835) (Santa Barbara County) I.S. et al.,

Plaintiffs and Respondents,

v.

G.C.S.,

Defendant and Appellant.

Here we decide the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) does not apply to adoptions. (Fam. Code, § 3400 et seq.)1 Our task was easy; we read the statute. A mother with sole custody of a child and her husband petitioned for a stepparent adoption of the child. I.S. ("Mother) had sole custody of the child, K.C., under a New York decree. Mother and her husband, J.S., petitioned the trial court to declare that the consent of G.C.S., the natural father ("Father"), to the adoption is not required (§ 8604, subd. (b)) and to terminate Father’s parental rights (§ 7822). The trial court granted the petition. Father appeals, claiming the trial court lacked jurisdiction because it failed to comply with the UCCJEA. We affirm.

1 All statutory references are to the Family Code.

FACTS Mother met Father while visiting Ecuador. After Mother became pregnant, she returned to the United States without Father. Mother gave birth to the child in July 2008. Father did not see the child until the child was six months old. Father came to the United States and the couple was married in March 2009. They lived in New York. The couple lived together as husband and wife but, after a few months, agreed to separate. Because Father had no place to go, he slept on Mother’s couch. But then due to Father's violence and alcohol abuse, Mother obtained a restraining order. In March 2010, Father filed a petition in a New York court seeking custody of or visitation with the child. The court initially ordered supervised visitation, but later, in September, it suspended the visitation order. The court did not restore Father’s visitation rights, and the custody proceedings were dismissed. While living in New York, Mother met J.S., the proposed adoptive father. They moved to California. Mother testified she received permission from the New York court to take her child with her to California. Mother and J.S. are now married and reside in California with the child. In October 2011, Mother returned to New York to allow the child to visit Father. Mother brought the child to the Father’s residence. Shortly thereafter, the child called Mother and asked her to come get him. Father has not seen the child since. In October 2012, the couple divorced. The New York decree awarded sole custody of the child to Mother and did not award Father visitation. It ordered Father to pay $25 per month in child support. Since moving to California, Mother has not prevented Father from visiting the child. Father promised the child he would come to California to visit, but he did not. Instead, Father traveled to Puerto Rico and Ecuador. He has not paid child support. J.S. filed a stepparent adoption petition. He also filed the instant petition to determine the necessity of Father’s consent or alternatively to declare the child free from Father’s custody and control.