Most people I discuss this topic with are surprised to learn that the answer is yes. My office has handled several of these types of cases throughout Sonoma County and Mendocino County.
A proceeding under Family Code Section 7800 et seq. may be brought if the child has been left in any of following circumstances:
1) Without provision for identification by his or her parent or parents; or
2) By both parents or by his or her sole parent in the care and custody of another person without any provision for support or without communication from the parent or parents for six months; or
3) By one parent in the care and custody of the other parent without any provision for support or without communication from the absent parent for a period of one year.
All of my cases were brought under the factual situation described in option three. There are, unfortunately, many parents who leave their child or children in the custody of the other parent and fall off the face of the earth for periods over one year and fail to provide support or communicate with their child. Under the law this is abandonment and your parental rights can be terminated.
The acts of the parent or parents must be done with the intent to abandon the child. A failure to provide identification, a failure to provide support, or a failure to communicate is presumptive evidence of the intent to abandon.
It is not necessary to prove a permanent intent to abandon. If, in the opinion of the court, the evidence indicates that the parent or parents have made only token efforts to support or communicate with the child, the court may declare the child abandoned by a parent or parents.
Abandonment is established only when there is a physical act--leaving the child for the prescribed period of time--combined with an intent to abandon. A parent's criminal acts or acts of domestic violence that result in the parent's incarceration can satisfy the requirement for voluntarily leaving the child in the care and custody of the other parent. Incarceration, by itself, is not a legal defense to abandonment of a child.
The Law Offices of James V. Sansone offers a full range of family law legal services including divorce, paternity, child custody and visitation matters, child support, spousal support, alimony, domestic violence, division of property, grandparent visitation, custody, and has experience with termination of parental rights proceedings. We are located in Santa Rosa, California and serve clients throughout Sonoma County, Mendocino County, and Lake County, including Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Cotati, Rohnert Park, Sebastopol, Healdsburg, Sonoma, Kenwood, Glen Ellen, Windsor, Bodega Bay, Ukiah, Willits, Clearlake, Lakeport, and Kelseyville.
