## Facts

- J.O. (birth mother) and M.B. (biological father) were married and, for many years, were also in a committed relationship with the appellant.
- The three adults agreed to have and raise a child together, with J.O. and M.B. as the biological parents and the appellant adopting the child while the biological parents retained parental rights.
- After E.B. was born, all three adults lived together and jointly raised E.B.
- In the required independent-adoption investigation, the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) concluded the adoption was in E.B.’s best interest and recommended the uncontested petition be granted.
- The biological parents executed consents that sought an adoption creating three legal parents rather than replacing a biological parent.

## Issues

1. Whether an uncontested independent adoption petition seeking to add a third legal parent must be evaluated under Family Code § 8617 (adoption) rather than Family Code § 7612(c) (Uniform Parentage Act).
2. Under the correct adoption statute, what discretion the trial court has to grant or deny an adoption in which existing parents retain parental rights.

## Decision

- The trial court’s denial of the adoption petition was reversed and the matter was remanded.
- The trial court erred by applying Family Code § 7612(c)’s detriment-based standard, which is aimed at disputed parentage determinations, not independent adoption petitions.
- The trial court must reconsider the petition under Family Code § 8617 and exercise its discretion under the adoption statutes, including a best-interests determination.
- The appellate court did not order the adoption granted; it required reconsideration under the proper legal framework.

## Legal Principles

- Family Code § 7612(c) authorizes recognition of more than two legal parents only upon a finding that limiting recognition to two parents would be detrimental to the child; it functions within parentage disputes.
- Family Code § 8617 governs independent adoptions and allows, in appropriate cases, an adoption without termination of an existing parent’s rights when there is a preexisting parent-child relationship and it is in the child’s best interest to preserve that relationship.
- When a petition is properly brought as an independent adoption with consents and a request for nontermination of existing parental rights, the court applies § 8617’s adoption framework rather than importing § 7612(c)’s detriment requirement.
- CDSS’s investigatory findings and recommendations in independent adoptions carry substantial weight, though the ultimate best-interests decision remains for the court.

## Conclusion

The court held that a consensual independent adoption seeking to add a third parent must be evaluated under Family Code § 8617’s adoption and best-interests standards, not the Uniform Parentage Act’s detriment-based three-parent provision, and it remanded for the trial court to apply the correct statute.


Adoption of E.B., 76 Cal. App. 5th 359 (Cal. Ct. App. 2022)