California Legal Brief

The Rule of Steven N. v. Priscilla C. is that a voluntary declaration of parentage (VDOP) is void as a matter of law when, at the time of signing, a third party is already a presumed parent under Family Code section 7611, subdivision (b), even if that presumed parent status arises from an invalid marriage solemnized in apparent compliance with law.

Appeal from order denying motion to set aside voluntary declaration of parentage in Superior Court, San Diego County.

Defendant Appellant was Priscilla C. — the birth mother who was married to another man at the time she signed the VDOP.

Plaintiff Respondent was Steven N. — the man who signed the VDOP claiming to be the genetic father of the child.

The suit sounded in parentage determination and child custody. Steven filed a custody petition based on the VDOP, and Priscilla cross-claimed to set aside the VDOP as void.

The key substantive facts leading to the suit were that Priscilla married Gianni V. via confidential marriage certificate on October 10, 2020, gave birth to Stella on October 4, 2021, and signed a VDOP with Steven the next day (October 5, 2021) listing Steven as the father. Priscilla later sought to set aside the VDOP, claiming it was void because Gianni was Stella's presumed parent under Family Code section 7611 at the time she signed it.

The procedural result leading to the Appeal: The trial court denied Priscilla's motion to set aside the VDOP, ruling that her marriage to Gianni was invalid because they had not been "living together as spouses" as required for a confidential marriage under Family Code section 500, therefore Gianni was not a presumed parent.

The key question(s) on Appeal: 1) Whether the trial court's order was appealable; 2) Whether the VDOP was void under Family Code section 7573.5 because Gianni was a presumed parent under section 7611, subdivision (b) at the time Priscilla signed it.

The Appellate Court held that the VDOP was void as a matter of law because Gianni was Stella's presumed parent under Family Code section 7611, subdivision (b)(1) when Priscilla signed the VDOP, since he and Priscilla had "attempted to marry each other by a marriage solemnized in apparent compliance with law" before Stella's birth, and Stella was born during the attempted marriage, regardless of whether the marriage was actually valid.

The case is inapplicable when the parties seeking to establish parentage through a VDOP can demonstrate that no third party had presumed parent status under any subdivision of Family Code section 7611 at the time of signing, or when dealing with marriages that are "invalid without a court order" rather than those that "could be declared invalid only by a court."

The case leaves open the actual validity of confidential marriages obtained through false statements about cohabitation, and whether such marriages can be declared void ab initio without court proceedings.