Adoption of Reed H.

—Marcos J., biological father of the two-year-old minor Reed H., filed a notice of appeal from orders dispensing with his consent to adoption and terminating his parental rights. (Fam. Code, § 7662. ) Respondents, the adoptive parents K.M. and E.M., filed a motion to dismiss the appeal as untimely. To resolve the issue, we first examine the statutory authorization to appeal the order dispensing with father’s consent, to determine the proper rule to apply in assessing the timeliness of the notice of appeal and then resolve the question of whether the notice of appeal was timely filed.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Reed H. was born in September 2014. Soon thereafter, his mother, D.H., relinquished her parental rights to an adoption agency. (§ 8700.) In October 2014, the agency filed an adoption request seeking termination of father’s parental rights and an ex parte petition to dispense with consent in Santa Cruz County. Marcos J. was identified as the father of Reed H. and was notified of the pending actions. He then filed a petition to establish parental relationship in Santa Cruz County. In December 2014, the prospective adoptive parents filed a petition to…