Legal Question in Family Law in California

California law is very tricky in this area, and just all the more so when same-sex couples are involved. It was a big mistake to do all this without the assistance of an attorney. The first and key question is how was the sperm donated? If it was done the "time honored" way, you have a serious problem. It is legally impossible for a biological father to give up his parental rights except in an adoption context, because the state wants him on the hook for his parental responsibilities as well, unless someone else is taking them on. The fact that a judge adjudicated you as having parental rights as between your ex and you, does not mean that is binding as between the biological father and you or your ex. If, however, the sperm was delivered artificially, it is a different story. In that case, an agreement to surrender parental rights should be enforceable if validly drafted and signed. Notarization doesn't matter unless he now contends his signature was forged. And even then, notarization would only raise an automatic presumption that it is not a forgery. It would still be a question of fact as to whether it was actually forged somehow. (I used to work for a title company, and you'd be amazed at some of the schemes people pull to get notaries to notarize forged documents). Bottom line - if your ex got pregnant naturally, he has a good case. If by artificial means, then it depends on whether he actually signed the agreement, whether he disputes it, and whether the document is sufficient to actually surrender his rights.