termination of parental rights

[robync]

i am a single parent from mississippi.my son is 12yrs.old and his father has never chosen to have any relationship with him.his father has paid $200 a month in child support since my son was 4yrs.old. he has a much better job now and i am seeking an increase in child sup. when i filed the papers to modify my child sup., he filed papers asking the judge to terminate his parental rights b/c supposedly i have denied him access to his son. how can he get away with this?my son and i have lived at the same address for 11 of his 12 years and my phone num. has always been listed.my son's father has never once attempted to contact me or my son. he is just mad because i want more child support. does he really have legal standing to terminate his parental rights?if so, what does this mean for my son?i really need help because i cannot afford a private attorney.

 

[tigger22472]

Your x is wacked. He can not simply decide to terminate his rights. Let me rephrase that... his rights can be terminated.... His right to see his child that is, but his right to support his child will stand. The only way he can get out of that is if you remarry and your new husband is willing to adopt your child. If he's never attempted to see the child then you are also not in contempt of any court order so he can't say you have denied him visits. He would have to have proof that he's tried to contact. Isn't it wonderful how first off some of these parents think they can simply walk away from children that they helped created and then still try to make you out to be the bad guy. In the process all he's doing is trying to make your life a living hell and intimidate you.... LOTS OF LUCK TO HIM(too bad there isn't some way to stress sacaism on a keyboard!!)

 

[Esimon1]

I agree! My situation's a little different. My husband's ex (girlfriend, for lack of better term), is a total nutjob. She informed him over the phone, that SHE had his parental rights terminated, and had the judge take his name off the birth certificate! Mind you, he wasn't even present at the birth! Long story short: He slept with her, (one-nighter, "free" piece), and POOF, she had a brother call him 9 months later to tell of birth she kept from her family-SURPRISE! Then, DNA test, child support/medical insurance order, repeated requests by him to have visitation denied by her, gifts for baby returned along with nasty letters, phone calls, and the ever present monthly 20 minute answering machine message. (Sorry, I get side-tracked), Anyway, this is only a portion of the hell she wreaks. Nothing is ever simple with her, she IS the drama-queen poster child. (I call her Drama Mama, among other things), We have to constantly verify everything she states/threatens, because she has quite the imagination when it comes to family law, etc. No, your ex CANNOT have his rights terminated without YOUR consent through court. He will still be obligated to pay his support. If a modification is in order-GO FOR IT! Let him make all the stupid allegations he wants. Your child's best interests are the most important thing. sorry to vent.

 

[Esimon1]

OH- PS> To ALL the men out there, (women too), For your own good, Be carefull of who you sleep with!!!!!!!! There is no such thing as a "free" piece of _ss!!!!!!!

 

[xecowgirl]

It really depends on the state you live in. In most states when the other parent terminates his/her rights, it has to be agreed upon by both parties. If his/her rights do get terminated he/she will still be responsible for child support. Terminating rights only means giving up any and all visitation with the child. In other states it means no longer being responsible for that child(ren) at all.

 

[dorenephilpot]

In Indiana, a parent will only be allowed to voluntarily terminate his/her parental rights and responsibilities if someone else is standing at the ready to adopt the child.

Otherwise, all deadbeat parents would be signing those documents and getting out of their support obligations to their children.

 

[robync]

thank you guys for responding. i live in mississippi and i consulted with a legal aid attorney by phone on friday. she told me that i would be served with papers and have to go to court to defend myself against my son's father. since we were not married, she said that the judge could go either way, but she feels certain that since i have lived in the same place all of my son's life and i have never made any attempt to hide my location from his father, that he will rule in my favor. my only problem is that attorneys are so expensive and i am really not financially able to fight this right now. i will have to borrow the money from the bank to pay for a lawyer. Why are lawyers so expensive?!

 

[dorfman]

Lawyers are so expensve because YOU chose to sleep with a loser.

And instead of having an abortion YOU had the baby and YOU exepeced him to help pay for it.


It was YOUR decesion all along now you are mad cause a lawyer costs too much.

If YOU had chosen to pay for the baby by yourself and NOT get any support this would have been over years and years ago....

But again YOU chose to keep this drama going for 12 years.

 

[tigger22472]

I feel that remark was VERY uncalled for. Yes women have rights and I'm pro-choice however I myself would never get an abortion simply for that reason. She didn't do this all by herself.. he was obviously there helping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why is it wrong for her to expect the father to help support this child???? We all make mistakes in life and yeah maybe the father is a loser but that doesn't give him the right to walk away from responsiblilities!!!! And it sure as hell isn't the child's fault. I realize that having children does not make all parents grow up but then again you know the saying "you play you pay." She has every right to try to attempt to allow her child to have the best that she can offer and if she needs a little help from the father then why shouldn't she try????

robync, please don't let these comments stop you from seeking advice or coming to this board. I apologize for them myself...

 

[robync]

first of all, i was in a relationship with this 'loser'. i did not just have a one night stand with him and then expect him to pay for it for 18 years. i do not believe in abortion as a form of birth control. just because my birth control method failed ( and i was using birth control), i do not believe that i should abort the baby. it did not work out with my son's father and i for a variety of reasons and i resent the fact that people make assumptions about me and my lifestyle based on the fact that i am a single parent. the fact remains that i did not get pregnant by myself and i should not have to assume all of the legal and financial responsibilities for the child. my son should not have to pay for his parents' mistakes. i am trying my best to get my life turned around by going back to school and seeking a better job. it is very hard financially to come up with $2500.00 for an attorney to fight this LOSER who does not want to take his responsibility. i have already done the hard part. i have been responsible for my son 24/7 since he was born and have tried to do everything in my power to give him everything that he needs to become a productive member of society. it is other people who condemn him because of a mistake that i made as a young adult.