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116 Cal. App. 2d 55

Smock v. Ayers

California Court of Appeal

Decided February 13, 1953

California Court of Appeal · decided 1953-02-13

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

““(1) Who has been left without provision for his identification by his parent or parents or by others or has been left by both of his parents or his sole parent in the care and custody of another for a period of six months or by one parent in the care and custody of another for a period of six months or by one parent in the care and custody of the other parent for a period of one year without any provision for his support, or without communication from such parent or parents, with the intent on the part of such parent or parents to abandon such person. Such failure to provide identification, failure to provide, or failure to communicate shall be presumptive evidence of the intent to abandon. Such person shall be deemed and called a person abandoned by the parent or parents abandoning him. If in the opinion of the court the evidence indicates that such parent or parents have made only token efforts to support or communicate with the child, the court may declare the child abandoned by such parent or parents. In those cases in which the child has been left without provision for his identification and the whereabouts of the parents are unknown, a petition may be filed after the 120th day following the discovery of the child and citation by publication may be commenced. The petition may not be heard until after the 180th day following the discovery of the child. “The fact that a child is in a foster care home, licensed under Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 1500) of Division 2 o”

quoted by 1 later decision, including Napoli v. Elizabeth P.

““The rules are established that (1) whether the presumption that there was intent of the parents to abandon the minor because they have failed for a year to provide for the child has been overcome by other evidence is a question of fact for the trial court. (In re Sanders, 88 Cal.App.2d 251, 254 [1] [ 198 P.2d 523 ]), (2) the question whether the intent to abandon has existed for a period of one year is also a question of fact for the trial court (In re Welch, supra, 473 [ 108 Cal.App.2d 466 ( 238 P.2d 1031 )]), and (3) it is the province of the trier of fact to pass on the weight to be given the evidence and the credibility of witnesses in a proceeding pursuant to the provisions of section 701 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and the decision of the trier of fact supported by substantial evidence, as in the instant case, is binding upon the appellate court."”

quoted by 1 later decision, including Barrett v. Barton

Relies on 56 Cal. App. 2d 791 - Pitzer v. Peterson · In Re Cordy · 39 Cal. App. 471 - Moch v. Superior Court

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1953-02-13

How this case has been cited

Cited by 20 later decisions — most recently September 1981

20 state decisions

1001953196019701980decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

McCOMB, J.

¶1 From (1) a judgment that Miss Ayers, a minor, be declared and adjudged to be free from the custody and control of her parents, appellants, pursuant to the provisions of subdivision A, section 701, article VI of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and (2) an order of adoption awarding the custody of said minor to respondents, the parents appeal.

¶2 Chronology: i. March 28, 1950, a baby daughter was born to Mary and Leo Ayers in Los Angeles. Pursuant to previous arrangement the mother left the child with respondents, who have since cared for and reared her.

¶3 ii. March 30, 1950, respondents filed a petition for adoption of the minor.

¶4 iii. May 8, 1951, respondents filed a petition in the juvenile court of the county of Los Angeles to have said child declared free from the custody and control of her natural parents, appellants, pursuant to section 701, article VI of the Juvenile Court Law.

¶5 iv. May 23, 1951, appellants refused to give consent to the adoption of the minor and on June 12, 1951, they filed a petition objecting to the adoption proceedings.

¶6 v. The foregoing petitions were consolidated for trial and on November 15, 1951, the court found the minor was a person defined in subdivision A of section 701, article VT of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and that she had been left *57 in the custody of respondents by her parents for more than one year prior to the filing of the petition without provision for her support and maintenance, with the intent of the parents to abandon her. Accordingly the court entered judgment that the minor was declared and adjudged to be free from the custody and control of her parents, and on November 19, 1951, entered an order of adoption whereby the custody of the -minor was awarded to respondents.

¶7 Question: Was there substantial evidence to sustain the court’s findings that (a) appellants left their minor child with respondents for a period of more than one year without provision for her support, and (b) with intent to abandon her?

¶8 Yes. Section 701 of the Welfare and Institutions Code provides in part:

“The jurisdiction of the juvenile court extends also to any person who should be declared free from the custody and control of either or both of his parents. The words ‘person who should be declared free from the custody and control of either or both of his parents’ shall include any person under the age of 21 years who comes within any of the following descriptions:
“(a) Who has been left by either or both of his parents in the care and custody of another without any provision for his support, or without communication from either or both of his parents, for the period of one year with the intent on the part of such parent or parents to abandon such person. Such failure to provide, or such failure to communicate for the period of one year, shall be presumptive evidence of the intent to abandon. Such person shall be deemed and called a person abandoned by the parent or parents abandoning him.”

¶9 (a) The uneontradicted testimony disclosed that the child had been left voluntarily with respondents by appellants for more than one year; that they had never made any provision for or contributed anything to her support. * This evidence supported the first questioned finding.

¶10 (b) The undisputed evidence disclosed that appellants *58 had never taken any steps to reclaim their child until more than one year had elapsed after they had placed her with respondents and until after the petition for adoption was filed. Also, appellant Mary Ayers had stated to respondent, “You have absolutely nothing to worry about. We don’t intend to ever take the child away from you. It is yours and we have no intentions of ever taking her away.” This evidence in addition to the presumption that failure to provide for a minor for one year is evidence of intent to abandon a minor (In re Welch, 108 Cal.App.2d 466, 473 [3] [238 P.2d .1031]), amply sustains the trial court’s finding that appellants left their child with respondents “with intent to abandon” her.

¶11 The rules are established that (1) whether the presumption that there was intent of the parents to abandon the minor because they have failed for a year to provide for the child has been overcome by other evidence is a question of fact for the trial court (In re Sanders, 88 Cal.App.2d 251, 254 [1] [198 P.2d 523]), (2) the question whether the intent to abandon has existed for a period of one year is also a question of fact for the trial court (In re Welch, supra, 473), and (3) it is the province of the trier of fact to pass on the weight to be given the evidence and the credibility of witnesses in a proceeding pursuant to the provisions of section 701 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and the decision of the trier of fact supported by substantial evidence, as in the instant case, is binding upon the appellate court. (In re Peterson, 56 Cal.App.2d 791, 794 [133 P.2d 831].)

¶12 In re Cattalini, 72 Cal.App.2d 662 [165 P.2d 250], relied on by appellants, is consistent with the authorities cited above, such case merely holding the failure to provide or communicate for one year with a minor child is only presumptive evidence of the intent to abandon, and the intent must be shown.

¶13 Likewise Moch v. Superior Court, 39 Cal.App. 471 [179 P. 440], is authority for the proposition that it is the duty of the trial court to determine from the evidence whether or not the actual intent to abandon exists in any particular case.

¶14 In re Cordy, 169 Cal. 150 [146 P. 532, 534], also relied on by appellants, is factually distinguishable from the present case. In that case the natural mother with three children was deserted by her husband. The child involved was injured in the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, found by *59 the mother after search on her part and nursed back to health by her. The mother placed the child in the temporary care of various other persons on account of her financial position but never with the intent to abandon her. The child was finally placed with people who moved from San Francisco. There is no evidence in the Cordy case of the slightest word or act on the part of the natural mother that can be construed or interpreted as an intention of abandoning the child. Therefore the ease has no application here.

¶15 The judgment and order are and each is affirmed.

¶16 Moore, P. J., and Fox, J., concurred.

*

¶17 Respondent Smock testified:

“Q. By Mr. Green: Did Mr. or Mrs. Ayers ever make any provision for the support of the child? A. No, they never contributed anything at all. Never.
“Q. Did they ever contribute any money for the support of the child? A. No, no money at all.”
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