Minors. J.D. v. Southdakota (In re H.D.)

SLOUGH J.

Recognizing she suffered from addiction, S.D. (mother) agreed to let her ex-husband, E.D. (father), assume full custody of their two daughters-who had previously lived primarily with her-until she could get clean and sober. She underwent treatment, and 14 months later, sought to regain partial custody in family court. About a week after mother filed for custody, father's wife, J.D. (stepmother), filed petitions to free the girls from mother's custody and control based on abandonment, so stepmother could adopt them. ( Fam. Code, § 7822, subd. (a)(3), unlabeled statutory citations refer to this code.) The trial court granted the petitions and terminated mother's parental rights. The court concluded mother had abandoned her daughters because she had failed to communicate with or financially support them for at least one year.

Mother argues the evidence is insufficient to support the court's ruling, and we agree. Under section 7822, subdivision (a)(3), a parent abandons their child when they leave the child with the other parent for a year, with no communication or financial support, " with the intent ... to abandon the child ." (Italics added.) Mother's failure to…