§ 7B-1108. Answer or response of parent.
(a)Any respondent may file a written answer to the
petition or written response to the motion. The answer or
response shall admit or deny the allegations of the petition or
motion and shall set forth the name and address of the answering
respondent or the respondent's attorney.
(b) If an answer or response denies any material allegation
of the petition or motion, the court shall appoint a guardian ad
litem for the juvenile to represent the best interests of the
juvenile, unless the petition or motion was filed by the
guardian ad litem pursuant to G.S. 7B-1103, or a guardian ad
litem has already been appointed pursuant to G.S. 7B-601. A
licensed attorney shall be appointed to assist those guardians
ad litem who are not attorneys licensed to practice in North
Carolina. The appointment, duties, and payment of the guardian
ad litem shall be the same as in G.S. 7B-601 and G.S. 7B-603,
but in no event shall a guardian ad litem who is trained and
supervised by the guardian ad litem program be appointed to any
case unless the juvenile is or has been the subject of a
petition for abuse, neglect, or dependency or with good cause
shown the local guardian ad litem program consents to the
appointment. The court shall conduct a special hearing after
notice of not less than 10 days nor more than 30 days given by
the petitioner or movant to the respondent who answered or
responded, and the guardian ad litem for the juvenile to
determine the issues raised by the petition and answer or motion
and response.
(There is more to that.)
§ 7B-1111. Grounds for terminating parental rights.
(a)The court may terminate the parental rights upon a
finding of one or more of the following:
(1) The parent has abused or neglected the juvenile.
The juvenile shall be deemed to be abused or
neglected if the court finds the juvenile to be an
abused juvenile within the meaning of G.S. 7B-101
or a neglected juvenile within the meaning of G.S.
7B-101.
(2) The parent has willfully left the juvenile in
foster care or placement outside the home for more
than 12 months without showing to the satisfaction
of the court that reasonable progress under the
circumstances has been made in correcting those
conditions which led to the removal of the
juvenile. Provided, however, that no parental
rights shall be terminated for the sole reason that
the parents are unable to care for the juvenile on
account of their poverty.
(3) The juvenile has been placed in the custody of a
county department of social services, a licensed
child-placing agency, a child-caring institution,
or a foster home, and the parent, for a continuous
period of six months next preceding the filing of
the petition or motion, has willfully failed for
such period to pay a reasonable portion of the cost
of care for the juvenile although physically and
financially able to do so.
(4) One parent has been awarded custody of the juvenile
by judicial decree or has custody by agreement of
the parents, and the other parent whose parental
rights are sought to be terminated has for a period
of one year or more next preceding the filing of
the petition or motion willfully failed without
justification to pay for the care, support, and
education of the juvenile, as required by said
decree or custody agreement.
(5) The father of a juvenile born out of wedlock has
not, prior to the filing of a petition or motion to
terminate parental rights:
a. Established paternity judicially or by
affidavit which has been filed in a central
registry maintained by the Department of
Health and Human Services; provided, the court
shall inquire of the Department of Health and
Human Services as to whether such an affidavit
has been so filed and shall incorporate into
the case record the Department's certified
reply; or
b. Legitimated the juvenile pursuant to
provisions of G.S. 49-10 or filed a petition
for this specific purpose; or
c. Legitimated the juvenile by marriage to the
mother of the juvenile; or
d. Provided substantial financial support or
consistent care with respect to the juvenile
and mother.
(6) That the parent is incapable of providing for the
proper care and supervision of the juvenile, such
that the juvenile is a dependent juvenile within
the meaning of G.S. 7B-101, and that there is a
reasonable probability that such incapability will
continue for the foreseeable future. Incapability
under this subdivision may be the result of
substance abuse, mental retardation, mental
illness, organic brain syndrome, or any other cause
or condition that renders the parent unable or
unavailable to parent the juvenile and the parent
lacks an appropriate alternative child care
arrangement.
(7) The parent has willfully abandoned the juvenile for
at least six consecutive months immediately
preceding the filing of the petition or motion, or
the parent has voluntarily abandoned an infant
pursuant to G.S. 7B-500 for at least 60 consecutive
days immediately preceding the filing of the
petition or motion.
(8) The parent has committed murder or voluntary
manslaughter of another child of the parent or
other child residing in the home; has aided,
abetted, attempted, conspired, or solicited to
commit murder or voluntary manslaughter of the
child, another child of the parent, or other child
residing in the home; or has committed a felony
assault that results in serious bodily injury to
the child, another child of the parent, or other
child residing in the home. The petitioner has the
burden of proving any of these offenses in the
termination of parental rights hearing by (i)
proving the elements of the offense or (ii)
offering proof that a court of competent
jurisdiction has convicted the parent of the
offense, whether or not the conviction was by way
of a jury verdict or any kind of plea.
(9) The parental rights of the parent with respect to
another child of the parent have been terminated
involuntarily by a court of competent jurisdiction
and the parent lacks the ability or willingness to
establish a safe home.
(b) The burden in such proceedings shall be upon the
petitioner or movant to prove the facts justifying such
termination by clear and convincing evidence. (1977, c. 879, s.
8; 1979, c. 669, s. 2; 1979, 2nd Sess., c. 1088, s. 2; c. 1206,
s. 2; 1983, c. 89, s. 2; c. 512; 1985, c. 758, ss. 2, 3; c. 784;
1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 941, s. 1; 1997-390, ss. 1, 2;
1997-443, s. 11A.118(a); 1998-202, s. 6; 1998-229, ss. 11, 28;
1999-456, s. 60; 2000-183, s. 11; 2001-208, s. 6; 2001-291, s.
3; 2001-487, s. 101; 2003-140, s. 3.)
§ 7B-1112. Effects of termination order.
An order terminating the parental rights completely and
permanently terminates all rights and obligations of the parent
to the juvenile and of the juvenile to the parent arising from
the parental relationship, except that the juvenile's right of
inheritance from the juvenile's parent shall not terminate until
a final order of adoption is issued. The parent is not
thereafter entitled to notice of proceedings to adopt the
juvenile and may not object thereto or otherwise participate
therein:
(More to this one as well.)
If they terminate your rights, you have 10 days to appeal it. It states that as well, underneath this. You can find it on the website I gave you to the NC State General Assembly and the direct link is..
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/statutes/generalstatutes/html/bychapter/chapter_7b.html