How hard is it to terminate your parental rights, will it terminate your child support obligations?
My ex-husband signed off parental rights to our daughter. It is something that both parents have to agree on. There is paperwork that has to be filled out and filed with the court. Then there is a hearing and the judge either grants it or does not. If it is granted you are no longer obligated to pay child support. You ARE still responsible for any child support due before the paperwork was filed.
Can I have my ex's parental rights terminated?
I am in your EXACT shoes!! So I live in California, at present, there is not a law about when you can have you new husband adopt your child. However, there is no judge that will grant an adoption until at least a year after marriage. It sucks, I know. Another thing, the other parent has to agree to terminate rights in order for the adoption to take place (yet another bummer). The nice thing is you have child support and if he owes any, back child support, to dangle in front of your ex an insentive to release his rights. He will not have to pay child support anymore and all back child support will be erased if he signs over his rights. I do believe that there is a law stating something about at 18 months of no contact, you may be able to take his rights away. Doing so in court is VERY difficult because in the courts eyes the child should be with both biological parents. Unless you have an open case of abuse, neglect, etc with CPS, the courts may not see a reason to force his rights away. I am getting married to the man of my dreams in 6 months and in the past 4 years my ex has seen our son a total of 6 hours. However because my ex is an ***, he will not wave his rights, and I have unsuccessful so far in forcing them away from him in court. I feel just as stuck as you. Good luck, hope this was somewhat helpful!
Termination of parental rights?
This is a 2-step process and can only be done by a court. Step 1: terminate his parental rights. If you know where he is, ya gotta tell, otherwise it could void the whole termination. In some states, the key basis for terminating parental rights is the refusal to pay court ordered child support. If he has regularly paid child support, but not seen the child, it doesn't matter. You probably won't be able to terminate unless he consents. He might consent because he wants to be relieved of paying child support. Step 2: do the step-parent adoption. These tend to be very simple. Step parent should know he will be on the hook as much as the real father would have been. ** Note: This is a general discussion of the subject matter of your question and not legal advice. Local laws or your particular situation may change the general rules. For a specific answer to your question you should consult legal counsel with whom you can discuss all the facts of your case. Answering this question does not indicate an attorney-client relationship. **
Is the only way to terminate someone's parental rights to adopt a child through CPS?
Yes, its advisable to hire an attorney, but not required.I filed the petition myself. The costs are around $300. My hearing is set for August.UPDATE: After the filing of the petition, I filed a motion for waiver of welfare investigation and the district judge granted the motion. This effectively removed CPS from the process. I also filed a motion for service by publication, which the district judge granted as well. This effectively allowed my ex to be served by publication in a newspaper.The hearing went well, I hired an attorney to do the oral presentation (I’m much better at writing) and the district judge terminated my ex’s parental rights. Another hearing immediately occurred and the district judge adopted my son to my wife (his step-mother).All in all, a highly successful, quick process, that took a couple of months and didn’t involve CPS at all.
HOW CAN I WIN A TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS (366.26) HEARING AGAINST CO. CPS.?
Get a new lawyer. You are going to have a long hard process ahead of you. You have to find something to pospone the termination of rights. It could be anything. The process of cps court proceedings is called substantive due process. This means that not everything is cut and dry and anything that you can bring forward that will show that you can become a competent parent or that they made a mistake in the case should hold off the parental rights trail. Also make sure you have not or do not sign away your rights to an appeal.
Terminating parental rights of father?
I would not terminate your parental rights for a couple of reasons. One, depending where you are located, terminating your rights does not always mean child support will be eliminated. Two, when the child gets older, believe me she WILL want to know about her father. Parents can only bad mouth another for so long until the child wants to know for themselves. Lastly, though it might appear to be a good idea to terminate, it will haunt you years and nights to come, especially if you have the empathy you do regarding the mother 's drama and unstable character effecting your daughter. One of the best things you could do, even if it's in the background, is to be there for her to catch her if she falls. That will be something both of you will be remember, be comforted by as well as drawn to. Legally, if you have the biological proof, you have paternal rights. Regardless of what she has filed against you. They have seen everything in the legal system and as sad as it is have a complacent attitude. To them although embarrasing to you is quite boring to them. You will need an attorney though for filing. If money is an issue and you have Prairie State Legal in your area, you can at the very least go in for an interview. Do not be discouraged if they present an aloof nature. They get several complaints. Your income must meet certain conditions. Hit "0" and you'll get right through. Good luck!
Does sole legal custody for mom mean dad has no rights?
No. It doesn't mean dad has no rights. And the mother absolutely cannot terminate his parental rights. It means that the mother has the right to make all decisions pertaining to health care, education and religion without the father's agreement. This is fairly common if the court finds that the parents have no hope of getting along and make joint decisions about the children. Mother may have sole legal custody, but dad has joint physical custody (by virtue of getting visitation with the child). Dad will also have the right to go to court to modify the custody order if something happens to justify this. So if he doesn't like the decisions that the mother is making, he absolutely has the right to haul her back to court to put the matter in front of a judge.
What are the pros/cons of terminating parental rights?
A lot of people have been bringing this up with me since it's been almost a year since my daughter has had anything to do with her dad. In California, if a noncustodial parent has avoided contact in any way, shape or form in over a year it's called child abandonment. I could go to the courts and submit a peition for a termination of his parental rights, which means he can't get custody of her EVER again. He'll basically be like a stranger to my daughter. A lot of people want me cut the ties completely just because domestic violence and child abuse were invovled, there is a current warrent out for his arrest, he relasped on drugs and alchol, and he has refused to pay the court-ordered child support for almost two years now. What are your opinions? What do you think are the pros and cons? I need outside advice to figure out what would be the best thing for my 2-year-old daughter!
Voluntary Termination of Parental Rights?
I work at a boarding school in New York for middle and high school aged children. They are free to go home any time they wish, long weekends, etc, but most of them stay here. Several of them either do not have anyone to go home to or come from troubled homes and they are free to stay with us until they are 18, and sometimes afterward if they choose to stay on and help with the school. In my decade of time here, I have grown close to one young girl who came here from Illinois when she was about 13. She is now 17 and just revealed to me that her mother called her last week and told her not to come back home anymore because she came out as gay. My husband and I would dearly love to adopt her, especially because she will gradute soon and I don't want her to have to be on her own at just 18 years old. I have spoken to her mother who has said she will voluntarily give up her rights. My husband and I will cover the cost of her education now and continuing on. Since her parents will voluntarily sign and we are waiting to adopt her, can anyone tell us what the process is like? Most of my internet research seems to be focused on men signing rights away due to child support expenses. Since money is not an issue for us, can anyone give us a clearer picture? This girl is already a daughter to me, but we just want to make it official. :)