Termination of Parental Rights--
Definition: A termination of parental rights means that the person who
was the natural parent of a child no longer has any rights or responsibilities
to that child.
Rights: Rights regarding a child include the right to decide what kind of
education, health care, religion, morals and values the child should have.
Custody rights and visitation rights are also associated with children.
Responsibilities: Responsibilities include the duty to provide food,
clothing and shelter for the child, provide all necessary child support,
daycare, etc.
A parent whose rights have been terminated has the same rights and
responsibilities toward that child as a complete stranger. Such a parent is
not responsible for any support, nor is that parent allowed to have any input
or influence over the education, teaching and upbringing of that child. In
fact, a parent whose parental rights have been terminated does not even
have the right to see or contact the child.
There are two ways by which parental rights may be terminated:
Voluntarily--
The natural parents may voluntarily consent to the termination of their
parental rights, such as when an adoption is being permitted, and the child
will live with new adoptive parents. Court approval is required for this kind
of proceeding.
Parental rights may be terminated voluntarily with the written consent of a
parent who for good cause desires termination. Even if both parents are in
agreement that parental rights should be terminated, the Court must
address whether the termination is occurring for good cause. "Good cause"
is not defined in the statute, but has been applied in some cases.
In one case, a Supreme Court examined the purpose and intent of the
statute to determine when good cause could be found. The purpose of the
statute is:
· First, to enable the judicial system to legally remove a child from a
destructive or unhealthy home environment without the consent of the
natural parents, and,
· second, to facilitate adoption procedures by providing a means by which
existing parental rights may be voluntarily terminated.
In light of these purposes, the Courts of Appeals have consistently ruled
that a voluntary termination of parental rights for reasons other than to
facilitate adoption works a substantial detrimental effect on a child, who will
be forced to look solely to his custodial parent to meet all of his needs.
The effect is that District Court Judges are extremely reluctant to terminate
parent's rights voluntarily and certainly not where the termination is not
agreed upon by the custodial parent. It is also clear under the law that a
non-custodial parent cannot claim that the termination of parental rights is
being requested in order to remove the child from a destructive or
unhealthy home environment, since the petitioning party is not custodial
parent.
The likelihood of obtaining an order terminating parental rights is also
reduced if the custodial parent is provided public assistance through the
county. Obviously, the county does not want to financially support children
when a parent who has that obligation is available. Even a non-custodial
parent's lack of contact with a child and belief that the parent could not care
for a child financially may insufficient to provide "good cause" for a
voluntary termination of parental rights. Some courts do not allow you "to sign over your rights." Meaning, some type of agreement between you and the other parent is meaningless to the court or to the child support enforcement agency.
In most cases signing over physical parental rights does not relieve the parent of their financial obligation unless the other parent agrees. If however, the rights are being relinquished so the child can be adopted, the court will dismiss child support obligations.
Courts are concerned with the child's welfare and nothing else. Whatever is in the best interest of the child, whether it is emotionally, physically, financially, is what will decide how the judge rules.
It is important to recognize that the reasons that may give rise to an involuntary termination of parental rights may not apply to a parent who seeks to voluntary termination his/her parental rights. They certainly would not apply if the custodial parent did not agree to the termination. For example, the abandonment provision only applies to involuntary terminations of parental rights --not voluntary ones.
Involuntarily--
Parental rights may also be terminated involuntarily. To terminate these rights involuntarily, the moving party must demonstrate that the natural parent or parents have abandoned the child.
Abandonment is demonstrated by showing that the parent has, by conduct continuing for a period of at least six months, either evidenced a settled purpose for relinquishing parental claim to a child, or has refused or failed to perform parental duties. A petition to terminate parental rights may be filed by either parent, an agency supervised by the Department of Public Welfare and providing adoption
services, or an individual having custody or standing in loco parents to the child.
Note: As a general rule, courts are reluctant to terminate parental rights when one parent feels that another parent is unfit. Even if one parent has lots of flaws, courts are hesitant to simply relieve a parent of his or her duties to properly raise the child and pay for the child's expenses.
It is extremely difficult to terminate parental rights, and courts will do so only in rare circumstances.
The parent-child relationship is a fundamental right of all persons. As a result, the burden of proof necessary to terminate parental rights is quite high. Parental rights may only be terminated involuntarily if it is shown by clear and convincing evidence that one of the following apply:
* Abandonment. Abandonment takes place where there is an intention to forsake the duties of parenthood. The Court may infer this intention when a parent fails to visit a child, refuses to accept responsibility for the child, and a fails to provide financial or emotional support to the child.
* Failure to Provide Parental Support. Rights may be terminated when there is clear and
convincing evidence that a parent has substantially and repeatedly neglected to comply with the
duties of a parent such as the duty to provide necessary food, clothing, shelter, education, and
other care necessary for the child's physical, mental, or emotional health and development. This
only applies if the parent has failed to provide support without good cause. In other words,
parental rights cannot be terminated if the parent is physically and financially unable to provide
support
* Failure to Provide Financial Support. Rights may be terminated when a parent has been
ordered to pay child support or to financially aid in the child's birth and has continuously failed
to do so despite having the financial ability to do so.
* Unfit Parents. A parent that is unfit may have parental rights terminated if it can be shown that
the parent has demonstrated a consistent pattern of specific conduct before the child or of
specific conditions directly relating to the parent and child relationship which renders that
parent unable, for the reasonably foreseeable future, to care appropriately for the ongoing
physical, mental, or emotional needs of the child. Significantly, there is also a presumption that a
parent is unfit if his/her parental rights were terminated to another child in the past.
* Foster Care Placement & Continued Parental Problems. Parental rights may be terminated if a
child has been placed in foster care because of issues that make a parent unfit and following that
placement reasonable efforts, under the direction of the court, have failed to correct the
conditions which would allow the child to be reunited with the parent. Additionally, rights may
be terminated for child neglect to the degree that the child is placed in foster care.
* Egregious Harm to Child. If a child has experienced egregious harm in the parent's care, which
indicates a lack of regard for the child's well-being parental rights may be terminated.
* Conviction of Crimes. A parent's conviction of certain crimes may also form a basis for the
termination of that parent's rights.
When making a termination decision, the court is to rely "not primarily on past history, but to a great
extent upon the projected permanency of the parent's inability to care for his or her child."