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voluntary termination of parental rights and guardianship

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judofreak72

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? hawaii
me and my wife are in a situation where we provide 24/7 care for a child exclusively for over a year and my wife and her family provided care basically since the child was 4 months old (childs 5 1/2 now). what needs to be included in a document with the parents terminating thier rights and giving custody to us without them being able to revoke it later? also is this something we can do ourselves or do we have to include the courts? right now all we have is a document stating we can make decisions reguarding medical stuff and we live in constant fear of the child being ripped away from us. please help.
 
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Proserpina

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? hawaii
me and my wife are in a situation where we provide 24/7 care for a child exclusively for over a year and my wife and her family provided care basically since the child was 4 months old (childs 5 1/2 now). what needs to be included in a document with the parents terminating thier rights and giving custody to us without them being able to revoke it later? also is this something we can do ourselves or do we have to include the courts? right now all we have is a document stating we can make decisions reguarding medical stuff and we live in constant fear of the child being ripped away from us. please help.
Where are the child's parents? Do you have legal custody? Guardianship? What were the circumstances?
 

judofreak72

Junior Member
Where are the child's parents? Do you have legal custody? Guardianship? What were the circumstances?
no nothing legal. parents still officially have custody. cps involvment on 2 other children but not the one we care for. we want to make sure its totally legal (should cps ever try to go after the other children still listed as in thier custody) that we are the childs permanent caregivers as do the parents. i want to draft adocument stating them giving up permanent rights and giving custody to us. i need to know exactly what needs to be in there to make it ironclad.
thanx
 

Proserpina

Senior Member
no nothing legal. parents still officially have custody. cps involvment on 2 other children but not the one we care for. we want to make sure its totally legal (should cps ever try to go after the other children still listed as in thier custody) that we are the childs permanent caregivers as do the parents. i want to draft adocument stating them giving up permanent rights and giving custody to us. i need to know exactly what needs to be in there to make it ironclad.
thanx
You need an attorney. You absolutely should not even loosely consider doing this without an attorney.

Do the parents actually agree to terminate their rights? Do ALL parties involved truly understand what that means?
 

judofreak72

Junior Member
You need an attorney. You absolutely should not even loosely consider doing this without an attorney.

Do the parents actually agree to terminate their rights? Do ALL parties involved truly understand what that means?
its the parents idea. yes we understand what it means. my wife has reared this child since she was 4 months old. is there a document we can put together now before involving an attorney to prevent cps coming after the child even though she has never lived with her parents
 

Proserpina

Senior Member
its the parents idea. yes we understand what it means. my wife has reared this child since she was 4 months old. is there a document we can put together now before involving an attorney to prevent cps coming after the child even though she has never lived with her parents
No - nothing will be legally binding without a court order. If CPS believes the child is at risk, they'll have the right to intervene.
 

Proserpina

Senior Member
even if we notorize the document? im at a loss time is of the essence and im not sure if we can afford an attorney
Notarization really only confirms that the signatory has provided identification to prove who they are - it doesn't necessarily make the contents of the document legally binding. For that, you NEED to get it done in court.
 
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Proserpina

Senior Member
But I have to ask...if the child is genuinely safe and not at risk, what harm will come if CPS does investigate?
 

Proserpina

Senior Member
They can give you custody without giving up their rights. If they surrender their rights, that usually goes with an adoption. Is that your goal?
Shoot, that's right. Thanks Jan. Couldn't see wood for the trees, etc.

My bad, OP! (although it would still need to be done via court if it's to be legal)
 

Proserpina

Senior Member
keeping from having to deal with all the drama that comes with a cps investigation.
...but wouldn't that also result in there being no doubt about the child's safety? Or at least confirmation that the child has been officially deemed to be not at risk in your care?

Isn't that the main point here?

Remembering that this is about what's best for the child...not the adult parties.
 

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