If you are involved in a situation where you are a father who has to give up parental rights, it can be difficult to deal with emotionally. When you realize that it is best to take this action, you can’t just walk away. A legal process must be followed to relinquish your parental rights.
Relinquishing Parental Rights
If you are a father who has decided to voluntarily terminate your parental rights, the process will be dependent on the state where you currently reside. However, in most cases, you will begin by signing a consent form that states you are voluntarily terminating your parental rights. The form must be notarized and filed with your local court.
It should be noted that if you do relinquish your parental rights, you are still obligated to pay child support. If no other options are available, you will be obligated to provide physical care. In cases where a mother or another caregiver takes on the responsibility of raising a child, you will be asked to provide financial support.
Attending A Court Date
After you complete paperwork and file it with the court, you’ll receive a court date. When the day for your court date arrives, you must appear in court to complete the process. You should be aware that the relinquishment of your parental rights is decided by a judge who may decide against terminating your parental rights.
A judge will look at the situation and make sure that his or her decision is appropriate for your child. In addition, a judge will need to determine if your decision to relinquish rights is being impaired or coerced.
You will be made aware of any further responsibility such as educational or medical expenses. Once the process is finalized, you will receive a copy that shows the decision of the court.
Change Of Heart
Relinquishing your parental rights is a major decision. If you decide to give up your rights and decide that it was a wrong decision in the future, you may be able to regain parental rights. However, the process will not be easy. The first thing that you will need to do is hire a lawyer to help with the process.
You will need to provide evidence that the new conditions are not meeting the needs of the child. You will also be required to obtain reference letters from individuals who can act as character witnesses such as coworkers, friends or family members.
Any child involved in the decision will also be asked to weigh in on the situation. If you have a good relationship with your children and decide to gain back parental rights, you have a higher likelihood of having those rights restored.
Jim Treebold is a North Carolina based writer. He lives by the mantra of “Learn 1 new thing each day”! Jim loves to write, read, pedal around on his electric bike and dream of big things. Drop him a line if you like his writing, he loves hearing from his readers!