Harvey F. v. Noel B.

Noel B. (appellant), the mother of Jacklyn F. (the minor), appeals from the trial court’s order granting a petition filed by the minor’s paternal grandparents (the grandparents) to terminate appellant’s parental rights based on abandonment. (Fam. Code, §§ 7820, 7822; 1 Cal. Rules of Court, rule 39.1A(a).) Appellant raises a variety of challenges to the trial court’s factual and legal findings.

We shall conclude that the requirements for abandonment under section 7822 were not met because the minor was not “left” in the custody of another for the period of time required by the statute. Accordingly, we shall reverse the termination of appellant’s parental rights.

Facts and Procedural History

On October 13, 1998, the grandparents filed a petition for guardianship of the seven-year-old minor. According to the petition, the grandparents previously had legal guardianship of the minor from August 1995 until October 1997, at which time the guardianship was terminated because appellant had completed a residential drug treatment program. The grandparents alleged that appellant became homeless and had come to their home in September 1998 with the minor and the minor’s half…