Opinion ID: 2585478
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Settled familial expectations

Text: The Court of Appeal's implication that California courts lack jurisdiction to grant second parent adoptions potentially called into question the legitimacy of existing families heretofore created in this state through established administrative and judicial procedures. Such families are of many types. Although second parent adoptions may involve children conceived, as in this case, by artificial insemination, [19] others involve children placed directly by their birth parents or private agencies with two unmarried adoptive parents. (See generally 1 Hollinger, Adoption Law and Practice (2002) Placing Children for Adoption, §§ 3.01-3.02, pp. 3-3 through 3-18.) [20] Others involve dependent children, often with special needs because of prior abuse or neglect, who were placed by public agencies with an unmarried fost-adopt parent whose partner later became a second adoptive parent. Still others are kinship adoptions, in which a grandparent or other relative became a second legal parent of a child whose very young mother was unable to raise the child on her own. Such adoptions also have involved children born in other countries and adopted either in their country of origin or in California by an unmarried adult whose partner later became a second adoptive parent. (1 Hollinger, Adoption Law and Practice, supra, §§ 3.01-3.02, pp. 3-3 through 3-18.) Established practice in California thus has created settled expectations among many different types of adoptive families. [21] Affirmance would unnecessarily risk disturbing these. Affirmance not only would cast a shadow of uncertainty over the legal relationships between thousands of children and their adoptive parents (contrary to the clearly stated intention of all interested parties), but potentially could prompt some adoptive parents to disclaim their established responsibilities. Indeed, as the Court of Appeal dissenter noted, perpetuating the Court of Appeal opinion would invite attempts to nullify completed second party adoptions in myriad species of litigation including support/custody/visitation disputes, inheritance contests and withdrawals of entitlements to previously available health and pension benefits, both governmental and private. The ultimate financial and emotional losers will be children who are the intended beneficiaries of the adoption laws. Sharon errs in asserting that, even if we were to affirm, persons who previously had completed a second parent adoption would have remedies such as compliance with the domestic partner registration provisions (§ 297 et seq.) [22] if they wish to ratify the earlier proceeding. Domestic partner registration constitutes no such panacea. With an exception for some seniors, California's domestic partner registry is open only to same-sex couples, and not to heterosexuals. (§ 297, subd. (b)(6).) Registered domestic partners, moreover, must have a common residence (§ 297, subd. (b)(1)), thus excluding qualified adoptive parents who might live apart for reasons having no bearing on whether an adoption is in a particular child's interest. Similarly, blood relatives cannot register, and therefore cannot adopt, as domestic partners ( id., subd. (b)(4)), even though many modern adoptions are kinship adoptions. (See 1 Hollinger, Adoption Law and Practice, supra, Placing Children for Adoption, §§ 3.01-3.02, pp. 3-3 through 3-18.) And families that have moved out of state, or where one adoptive parent has died, will not be able to seek ratification as domestic partners. [23] Even for parents who are legally qualified to register as domestic partners, undertaking a readoption would pose financial hardship and painful legal uncertainty. [24] No parent should have to face these kinds of choices, and no child should be placed in this kind of needless jeopardy. Nothing on the face of the domestic partnership provisions, or in their history as revealed in the record, states or implies a legislative intent to forbid, repeal, or disapprove second parent adoption or CDSS's forms and procedures facilitating such. Thus, contrary to Justice Brown's assertion, the Legislature's conferring on domestic partners the right ... to adopt a child of his or her partner as a stepparent  (Sen. Rules Com., Off. of Sen. Floor Analyses, 3d reading analysis of Assem. Bill No. 25 (2001-2002 Reg. Sess.) as amended Sept. 7, 2001, pp. 1-2, italics added), far from confirm[ing] its understanding that second parent adoption was not available (cone. & dis. opn. of Brown, J., post, 2 Cal.Rptr.3d at p. 703, 73 P.3d at p. 558), simply streamlines the adoption process for a subset of those who already were accessing second parent procedures, much as occurred in 1931 when the Legislature streamlined stepparent adoption itself. (See ante, fn. 9.) Domestic partner registration does not broadly secure for California's children the benefits of the availability of second parent adoption, nor does it eliminate the uncertainty the Court of Appeal's decision created for existing second parent adoptees and their parents.