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interpreterdeaf · Nov 14, 2008, 10:11 AM

what is the easiest way to terminate my x husbands parental rights? The courts gave him limited supervised visitation if he went through some different classes on anger management and parenting. This was 7 years ago. He never went to the classes and has not seen the children since that time. He pays child support sporadically but is over 10 k in arrears. Despite all of this I don't think he will be agreeable to giving up his parental rights.

ScottGem · Nov 14, 2008, 10:27 AM

Why would you want to? What do you think you will gain by it?

stinawords · Nov 14, 2008, 12:28 PM

Are you remarried to a man that wants to adopt? If not all you can really do is go back to court to have the support order enforced and try to stop the visitation based on the fact that he hasn't used it in that long. What state are you in?

interpreterdeaf · Nov 14, 2008, 06:52 PM

Originally Posted by ScottGem

Why would you want to? What do you think you will gain by it?

?? I am new to this web site so perhaps this is common, but answering my question with a question is less than helpful. I had a deaf patient in surgery today and she was asking me if I knew anything about how she would go about this without having to hire a lawyer etc. I was doing this research for her. To answer our question though, she is concerned for the safety of her children due to the abuse she and the children suffered in the past at the hands of this man. While he shows no interest at this time in the lives of his children she would feel safer (as would they) if he had no rights at all. She is re-married and has children with her current husband. They are both interested in his adoption of the 2 children from the previous message. I'm not sure if all this info (if any) is relevant but perhaps it will help someone to answer in a more helpful manner.

stinawords · Nov 14, 2008, 07:04 PM

If she is remarried to a man that wants to adopt then she can ask the bio father to relinquish his rights in order to make way for the adoption. She can tell him that all current and future support would stop. That is motivation for some but really that is the only way unless she has hard proof of his abuse. The adoption would require a lawyer so she may want to start looking around at some but she also needs to keep in mind that the bio father can still refuse to allow the adoption. If he doesn't allow it then she and her lawyer will need to have a mighty strong case ready for a judge to try to get the adoption to pass anyway but if the bio dad shows up in court to say he still wants his rights and she doesn't have a lawyer she will loose basically automatically.

ScottGem · Nov 14, 2008, 07:07 PM

Yes this is common. When you ask a question, very often for us to answer that question with the best info we have to get more information. What if a patient came to you asking how to stop a pain he had. Wouldn't you ask him to describe the pain in more detail?

Yes that info is very relevant. There are hundreds of threads here that ask the same question and you could have gotten your answer by reading a few of them.

Getting parental rights terminated is very difficult. That's part of why I asked for more info. There is no easy way. However, there are generally two reasons a TPR is granted. One is to clear the way for an adoption, the other is if the parent represents a danger to the child.

So the best way for your patient to go is to have her husband petition the court to adopt. If the father doesn't want to relinquish she can point out that it would end his support obligation.

Fr_Chuck · Nov 14, 2008, 09:01 PM

If this is in the US, most states will not take away the rights, for merely not visiting, or not paying child support, So most likely you are not going to take away his rights, and most states don't allow him to just sign them away unless you have a new partnet that is willing to adopt. ( and it is married partner in most states)

The court would expect you to use child support enforcement if you are not getting paid.

interpreterdeaf · Nov 14, 2008, 09:13 PM

[QUOTE=ScottGem;1375102]Yes this is common. When you ask a question, very often for us to answer that question with the best info we have to get more information. What if a patient came to you asking how to stop a pain he had. Wouldn't you ask him to describe the pain in more detail? Yes, so asking me to describe the situation in more detail would have been a more tactful way to get the info. Using your example, I would ask the patient when the pain started how bad it hurts etc. I WOULD NOT howeverask him why he wants to get rid of the headache and how he thinks that will help him in life. You know?

Yes that info is very relevant. There are hundreds of threads here that ask the same question and you could have gotten your answer by reading a few of them.

QUOTE]
Yes, I read for several hours about similar situations. However a man becoming a woman and a man asking if that means he didn't have to make payments etc etc each had a story that pulled the discussion into a different light.
Thank you for your much more helpful answer this time :)

ScottGem · Nov 14, 2008, 09:43 PM

My answer was more helpful because you gave me info that I could use to answer.

Alyssa79 · Dec 6, 2008, 05:50 AM

interpreterdeaf
{personal attacks edited out} Scottgem is not giving you accurate information, first of all. If your husband hasn't bothered to see or do anything for the kids in the last 7 years, you have a hell of a strong case. You can do a lot of research here, on the internet. In most cases, Abandonment or extreme parental disinterest, is a valid reason. It almost seems as if this person scottgem is trying to persuade people not to file for TPR. Talk to a lawyer, and research, try to find out for yourself if you have a good case for your ex's parental rights to be taken away.

ScottGem · Dec 7, 2008, 07:46 AM

Originally Posted by Alyssa79

interpreterdeaf
{personal attacks edited out} Scottgem is not giving you accurate information, first of all. If your husband hasnt bothered to see or do anything for the kids in the last 7 years, you have a hell of a strong case. You can do a lot of research here, on the internet. In most cases, Abandonment or extreme parental disinterest, is a valid reason. It almost seems as if this person scottgem is trying to persuade people not to file for TPR. Talk to a lawyer, and research, try to find out for yourself if you have a good case for your ex's parental rights to be taken away.

First, I suggest you read the rules of this site that you agreed to when you joined yesterday. I find it interesting that your first (and currently only) post starts attacking other members here.

Second, yes I am trying to discourage people from filing for a
TPR. Doing so requires a significant effort in time and money. Since, courts are very reluctant to grant TPRs, I don't want people to waste that time or money.

Third, I stand by the information I gave as accurate. I am not the only one giving this information. There are several members here with experience in Family Courts that echo what I have said.

In the OP's case, yes 7 years of no contact would be grounds for filing. But the courts will ask the same question I did. If the parent is not exercising his rights, then what advantage is there to terminating them? People can change and a parent may have a change of heart and want to become part of their children's lives in the future. Courts recognize this and that's one of the reasons, they are reluctant to grant TPRs. Laws are on the books to provide grounds for an involuntry TPR. But generally those laws are used to justify a TPR where the parent refuses to voluntarily relinquish AND the is someone waiting to adopt. If a custodial parent goes into court and ask for a TPR just because the NCP hasn't made contact for years, it is likely it won't be granted. If you have some evidence that is not an accurate statement, please present it. Otherwise, please don't give people false hopes.