Termination of Parental Rights

[Hopeless]

My husband is currently in Smith State Prison in Glennville, Georgia and his ex-wife lives in Greensboro, NC, I live in SC. My husband received a summons to appear in court in NC to terminate his parental rights. In the document it has several false stateaments about him not paying child support and communicating/visiting his children. He was court ordered in 1994 to have no contact with his children until they were 18 years of age. No contact and the fact he is in prison because of his exwife accusing him of molesting his three children (2 girls and 1 boy) caused him to go off the deep end and have a nervous breakdown. His attorney in Georgia says we must hire an attorney to protect his rights in NC. We cannot afford an attorney nor can I afford to take off of work to go to NC to handle this matter for my husband. What can we do to keep her from terminating his parental rights with no funds for legal assistance. She live in Greensboro NC, Guilford County. Our time is running out. He just received this at the prison February 10th and has only to March 1st to respond back or his parental rights will automatically be terminated according to the papers. Thank you for any advice!!!

 

[Janmarie]

I had a son who was in prison and also had a custody fight going on.We live in Georgia.What I did to help him was to type an' ANSWER' to any paperwork they filed.I would then send it to my son for HIM to sign or it is not vaid.He would return it to me,I would attach proof such as documentation,reciepts,etc. of whatever proved our point of view, and it was accepted by the court.It's very tricky but I also had an attorey to just review what I filed to make sure it was legal.It cost very litte for this attorney to oversee these documents.But my son's name ONLY was on the documents and HE signed them.Check with the local court where case is and see what thier specific procedure is or call a local attorney for advice.But ALWAYS attach documentation,if at all possible, to prove your statements.Hope this helps in any way.

 

[Hopeless]

Thank you for you suggestions. I have prepared a statement and mailed to him with an atorneys advice and waiting for him to mail it back to me. I plan on sending it certified to the attorney in NC and the court there. Thank you for responding! I know God will get us through all of this. Again thank you!

 

[Attorney_Replogle]

First of all, a motion to terminate the parent's rights is the most serious family law action. Courts are very careful about these issues. Surely no court is going to terminate a parent's rights simply because he or she is in prison. Nor is the court going to terminate it because he or she is not keeping in contact with the child. Especially since there is a prior court order not to contact that child until a certain time. Second, your husband should be able to obtain free representation from legal aid or another organization. You can also check with a family law attorney at attorneypages

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Mark B. Replogle