Legal Question in Family Law in California

Not really. You can file anything; it's getting to the order that's the issue. I have not researched this issue, but I would be surprised if there isn't some rule that you cannot get a custody order without personal service of the papers requesting the order and notice of the hearing. You can get a divorce without serving the other person if you can prove you've done everything reasonably possible to find them, but custody is different. Even if there is no specific rule, it seems logically impossible that a custody order could issue without notice of the hearing. If you got an order, it's still not effective until the other person is notified of it. If you can find them to notify them of it, you could have found them to serve the papers asking for the order.

You should terminate his parental rights. It requires a filing of an OSC and an appearance at the hearing. Contact me directly.