In re Isabella M.
Annotate this CaseR.C. appealed the juvenile court's denial of his petition to adjust his parental status from alleged to presumed father. The juvenile court had also terminated R.C.'s parental rights. The court concluded that, although R.C.'s right to proper notice may have been violated because he did not receive a form informing him of his right to seek presumed father status, any error was harmless. In this case, R.C. received notice of each hearing, as well as copies of the petition and various reports, throughout the dependency hearing; he waited more than 20 months to seek an adjustment of his parental status, well past the 18-month maximum period for reunification efforts; he appeared at the last moment before his rights were to be terminated; and the child's permanent plan was in place and schedule for approval. The court explained that the child's best interest lay in remaining in the only home she had ever known with the only parent she had ever known and her half-brother. Because there was no basis to find the juvenile court abused its discretion in denying the petition, the court affirmed the judgment.
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