What Does It Take To Terminate Parental Rights?

I’m Shawna Woods, managing partner of the Atlanta Divorce Law Group.

What does it take to terminate parental rights?

Terminating parental rights is a very strong thing to do. It is not done easily and it is not done lightly, because it takes way know both the rights and the responsibilities for the child.

There are four major ways to terminate someone’s parental rights.

The first one is through an adoption when someone voluntarily or the court takes those rights for them gives up their rights so that someone else can step in and act as the parent accepting both those rights and responsibilities.

A second way to terminate parental rights is through the court system. If the court finds through clear and convincing evidence that that parent has abandoned the child, either physically or financially for a period of over a year.

A third way would be if this parent is convicted of murdering the child’s other parent, and fourth MSB, a finding of parental misconduct.

All three of these ways are done typically through the juvenile court and there is a long court system to take away those parental rights.

Simply because somebody wants to walk away from a child does not mean that they can voluntarily terminate their rights and responsibilities towards that child.

If you’re looking to have the other parent rights terminated, give us a call the Atlanta Divorce Law Group so we can talk you through if it can be done and how it can be done.