In re A.H.

BACKGROUND

I. General Legal Principles Before turning to the facts, we provide a brief overview of the law governing the rights of a person claiming to be the parent of a dependent child. There are three types of fathers in dependency law: presumed, biological and alleged.1 (In re Mia M. (2022) 75 Cal.App.5th 792, 806 (Mia M.).) “ ‘A father’s status is significant in dependency cases because it determines the extent to which the father may participate in the proceedings and the rights to which he is entitled.’ ” (In re Christopher L. (2020) 56 Cal.App.5th 1172, 1184, affd. (2022) 12 Cal.5th 1063.) Presumed parent status, which is the equivalent of a legal parent, “ ‘ “ranks the highest.” ’ ” (Mia M., supra, 75 Cal.App.5th at p. 806.) It confers “all the rights afforded to parents in dependency proceedings, including standing, the appointment of counsel, and reunification services.” (Seiser & Kumli, Cal. Juvenile Courts Practice and Procedure (2022) § 2.60[2][a], p. 2-129 (Seiser & Kumli).) Presumed parentage is determined under the Uniform Parentage Act (Fam. Code, § 7600 et seq.), a statutory framework that “ ‘provides for conclusive and rebuttable presumptions of paternity’ ”…