Vasquez
Nov 20, 2007, 09:17 AM
My husband was incarcerated 7 years being released in March of 2006 to a half-way house then released home in March of 2007.
During his incarceration in 2003 he petitioned a visitation/communication order. It was received by the court but the outcome is unknown to him and he did not follow up. He has not seen or heard from his daughter/mother during that time and now she is 14. Last week he was served papers requesting his parental rights be involuntarily terminated under the basis of not conducting his "parental duties" for 6 months preceding the petition. Mom's husband of 6 years and father of her 2 younger children wants to adopt the child whom has also signed the petition conscenting the adoption. This all came about a month after my husband tried to, very nicely and peacefully, reach out to the child's mother via a certified letter however the petition was dated a week prior to the receipt of the letter (how convenient and sneaky). My husband is a changed person who wants to be a part of his daughter's life, not take over, respecting the fact that her step-father has raised her for the last 6 years but he wants the opportunity to re-establish a relationship with his daughter and by no means wants to relinquish his rights. His child support fell into arears during his incarceration (phenominal amount) however he is currently paying and has been since his release in 2006. Some time ago he and I talked about requesting a modification because we could not afford it due to a change in circumstances (new job, new baby). We decided not to disturb the peace keeping in mind he was going to reach out. Now that it has all hit the fan I thought we should. We can not afford a private attorney therefore we have sought counsel with the local legal aid services but they do not represent TPR. I figured we would make the appointment anyway and try to get representation for a visitation petition and modification. I have researched some information but I still have some questions and would appreciate your opinions. Can the courts terminate his rights? What is considered "parental duties" as per the courts? Do we have to pay if we request the child have a court appointed attorney? (I think the term is Ad Litem) Should we request modification of child support? What happens at the initial conference? What is the courts next step if the BF does not relinquish his rights? What are the chances of getting visitation? We are in the state of Pennsylvania.
During his incarceration in 2003 he petitioned a visitation/communication order. It was received by the court but the outcome is unknown to him and he did not follow up. He has not seen or heard from his daughter/mother during that time and now she is 14. Last week he was served papers requesting his parental rights be involuntarily terminated under the basis of not conducting his "parental duties" for 6 months preceding the petition. Mom's husband of 6 years and father of her 2 younger children wants to adopt the child whom has also signed the petition conscenting the adoption. This all came about a month after my husband tried to, very nicely and peacefully, reach out to the child's mother via a certified letter however the petition was dated a week prior to the receipt of the letter (how convenient and sneaky). My husband is a changed person who wants to be a part of his daughter's life, not take over, respecting the fact that her step-father has raised her for the last 6 years but he wants the opportunity to re-establish a relationship with his daughter and by no means wants to relinquish his rights. His child support fell into arears during his incarceration (phenominal amount) however he is currently paying and has been since his release in 2006. Some time ago he and I talked about requesting a modification because we could not afford it due to a change in circumstances (new job, new baby). We decided not to disturb the peace keeping in mind he was going to reach out. Now that it has all hit the fan I thought we should. We can not afford a private attorney therefore we have sought counsel with the local legal aid services but they do not represent TPR. I figured we would make the appointment anyway and try to get representation for a visitation petition and modification. I have researched some information but I still have some questions and would appreciate your opinions. Can the courts terminate his rights? What is considered "parental duties" as per the courts? Do we have to pay if we request the child have a court appointed attorney? (I think the term is Ad Litem) Should we request modification of child support? What happens at the initial conference? What is the courts next step if the BF does not relinquish his rights? What are the chances of getting visitation? We are in the state of Pennsylvania.