Author’s Note from Attorney Howard Iken: Parental rights refer to the legal rights of parents to spend time with and make decisions affecting the welfare of their child. However, in certain cases, parental rights can be terminated by a court. This can occur in situations such as written surrender, abandonment, threats to the well-being of the child, incarceration of the parent, and egregious conduct. Termination of parental rights requires specific procedures to be followed, such as filing a petition and holding a hearing. Once a parent’s rights have been terminated, it is usually difficult to obtain them back. Parents who feel their rights are in jeopardy are encouraged to seek immediate help.
Courts and legislatures across the country recognize that parents play an extremely important role in the life of their children. Children who grow up without the presence of one or both parents may require therapy or other interventions in order to overcome the pain and trauma of growing up with one or both parents absent from the home. Recognizing this, state laws (including Florida’s statutes) make it difficult for an adult’s parental rights to be terminated. This does not mean that parental rights are guaranteed, however. In certain cases, courts can terminate a person’s parental rights. The circumstances under which this can occur – and the procedures the court must follow when doing so – are explained and set forth in Florida statutes.
When a couple has a child, those parents have certain “rights” as parents of that child. These rights include the right to spend time with the child, make decisions affecting the welfare of the child (such as what medical treatment the child should receive, where the child should be sent to school, etc.), and who has access to the child. Both the natural mother of the child – who is easy to identify and is the individual who gave birth to the child – as well as the biological father of the child (who can be more difficult to determine in some cases) are able to exercise these parental rights. While courts generally defer to parents and allow parents to exercise their rights, courts do have the authority to intervene and limit or terminate parental rights.
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There are several situations in which parental rights can be terminated. These situations are described by statute and include:
In order to afford parents every opportunity to preserve their parental rights, Florida law requires certain procedures be followed.
Having one’s parental rights terminated is a serious action that in most cases is permanent and irrevocable. In other words, once a court terminates a parent’s rights, it is very difficult – and in most cases impossible – for that parent to obtain those rights back. It is extremely important that a parent who is either asked to sign a consent or surrender fully understand the document before he or she signs. Once a consent or surrender is signed and properly executed, a parent who wishes to “undo” such a document must produce evidence that his or her signature was obtained through fraud or deceit.
The courts generally want parental rights to remain intact; therefore, a parent who feels his or her parental rights are in jeopardy should reach out immediately for help. If a child has been adjudicated as a dependent, there are typically social services available that can assist parents in preserving their parental rights. If the other parent is seeking to terminate a parent’s rights in order to permit an adoption (such as a step-parent adoption), there are steps that a competent family lawyer can take to preserve the parent’s rights.
In any case where a parent’s rights are at risk, it is important that the parent whose rights are threatened take immediate action. The longer one waits, the more difficult it becomes to protect that parent’s rights.
The parents of a minor child – that is, the natural mother and the biological or legal father – have certain “parental rights” under the law. These rights include the right to spend time with the child, develop a parent-child relationship, and make decisions that affect the health, well-being, and development of the minor child. Florida, like most other states, generally prefers that parents’ parental rights remain intact throughout a minor’s childhood. But a parent’s parental rights are not completely immune: in some cases, a court can and will terminate a parent’s parental rights. Whether a court does so is always a fact-intensive question and requires the court to consider what is in the child’s best interest.
Parental rights can be terminated in connection with a dependency proceeding or in connection with an adoption proceeding. In either case, the individual or entity seeking the termination of a parent’s rights must file a petition with the court that sets forth the reasons why parental rights should be terminated. Parental rights can be terminated by the parent executing a specific document in front of witnesses and a notary. Rights can also be terminated where the parent is a danger to the child, where the parent will not be present for the majority of the child’s life due to the parent’s incarceration, and where a parent is found to have abandoned the child.
Parents who believe their rights may be in jeopardy or who have been asked to surrender their rights are strongly encouraged to seek the assistance of an experienced family law attorney or (in the case of a dependency proceeding) to speak with any state agencies involved in the proceedings. The sooner a parent seeks help and takes action, the greater the likelihood that that parent’s rights will not be terminated.
Even if a parent’s rights have been terminated, there is a small chance that such an action can be undone. A court’s ability to restore parental rights once they have been terminated is very narrow, so it is best to consult with the experienced team at Ayo and Iken to make sure the proper procedure is followed and to ensure that the necessary facts are brought to the court’s attention.
