In re VANESSA Q.



























Filed 7/14/10 Certified for publication 8/4/10 (order attached)









IN
THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA



SECOND
APPELLATE DISTRICT



DIVISION
SEVEN




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In re VANESSA Q. et al., Minors	B221331 (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BN05134)
MARTIN O. Petitioner and Respondent, v. JOSE T., Objector and Appellant.

APPEAL from
a judgment of the Superior Court
of Los Angeles
County, John L. Henning, Judge.
Affirmed.

Andre F.F.
Toscano, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Petitioner and
Respondent.

Ernesto Paz
Rey, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Objector and Appellant.



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Jose T.'s
parental rights were terminated pursuant to Family Code section 7822,
subdivision (a)(3),^[1] after the family law court found he had
abandoned his three genetic children, Vanessa Q. (born in May 1993),
Christopher Q. (born in February 1995) and Rebecca Q. (born in March
1997). The children had been in the
exclusive care of their mother, L.O. (Mother), and her husband, Martin O., for
more than eight years.

On appeal
Jose T., who is currently incarcerated in Mexico, contends the judgment is void
for lack of personal jurisdiction
because he was not properly served with notice of the proceedings in accordance
with the Convention on Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents
in Civil or Commercial Matters (Nov. 15, 1965, 20 U.S.T. 361, art. 10)
(Hague Service Convention) Because Jose
T. made a general appearance through his counsel at the hearing on the petition
and thus consented to the court's exercise of jurisdiction over him, we
affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

1. Martin
O.'s Petition for Judgment Declaring the Children Free from Jose T.'s
Custody and Control

On January 14, 2008 Martin O. petitioned to free all three
children from Jose T.'s custody and control on the ground of abandonment
pursuant to section 7822, subdivision (a),^[2] as a precondition to a stepparent
adoption. (See § 7841 [â€