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There
are two ways to terminate a parental rights, voluntarily
and involuntarily. A voluntary termination is agreed
upon by both parents whereas an involuntary termination may
occur without either parent's consent.
As an alternative to a voluntary termination proceeding, the
natural parent may consent to an adoption. A consent to
adoption must comply with strict statutory requirements. After
a decree of adoption is entered, the
natural parents are relieved of all parental responsibilities
including child support.
Voluntary Termination of
Parental Rights
Under Minnesota Statutes. §
260C.301, subd. 1(a) (2000), parental
rights may be terminated voluntarily with the written consent of
a parent who for good cause desires termination. Even if
both parents are in agreement that parental rights should be
terminated, the Court
must address whether the termination is occurring for good
cause.
"Good cause" is not defined in the statute, but has been applied
in some Minnesota cases.
In the case
entitled In re Welfare of All, 304
Minn. 254, 230 N.W.2d 574 (1975), the Minnesota Supreme
Court examined the purpose and intent of the statute to
determine when good cause could be found. The purpose of the
statute is:
- First, to enable the judicial system to
legally remove a child from a destructive or unhealthy home
environment without the consent of the natural parents, and,
- second, to facilitate adoption procedures
by providing a means by which existing parental rights may
be voluntarily terminated.
In light of these purposes, the Minnesota
Courts of Appeals have consistently ruled that a voluntary
termination of parental rights for reasons other than to
facilitate adoption works a substantial detrimental effect on a
child, who will be forced to look solely to his custodial parent
to meet all of his needs. See Matter of Welfare of J.D.N.,
504 N.W.2d 54, 58 (Minn.App.1993).
The effect is that District Court Judges are
extremely reluctant to terminate parent's rights voluntarily and
certainly not where the termination is not agreed upon by the
custodial parent. It is also clear under Minnesota law that a
non-custodial parent cannot claim that the termination of
parental rights is being requested in order to remove the
child from a destructive or unhealthy home environment, since
the petitioning party is not custodial parent. The likelihood of
obtaining an order terminating
parental rights is also reduced if the custodial parent
is provided public assistance
through the county. Obviously, the county does not want to
financially support children when a parent who has that
obligation is available. Even a non-custodial parent's lack of
contact with a child and belief that the parent could not care
for a child financially may insufficient to provide "good cause"
for a voluntary termination of parental rights.
It is important to recognize that the reasons
that may give rise to an involuntary termination of parental
rights may not apply to a parent who seeks to voluntary
termination his/her parental rights. They certainly would not
apply if the custodial parent did not agree to the termination.
For example, the abandonment provision only applies to
involuntary terminations of parental rights --not voluntary
ones.
Involuntary Termination of
Parental Rights
The parent-child relationship
is a fundamental right of all persons. As a result, the burden
of proof necessary to terminate parental rights is quite high.
Parental rights may only be terminated involuntarily if it is
shown by clear and convincing evidence that
one of the following apply:
- Abandonment. Abandonment takes
place where there is an intention to forsake the duties of
parenthood. In re Welfare of L.A.F., 554 N.W.2d 393,
398 (Minn.App.1996). The Court may infer this intention
when a parent fails to visit a child, refuses to accept
responsibility for the child, and a fails to provide
financial or emotional support to the child.
- Failure to Provide Parental Support. Rights may
be terminated when there is clear and convincing evidence
that a parent has substantially and repeatedly neglected to
comply with the duties of a parent such as the duty to
provide necessary food, clothing, shelter, education, and
other care necessary for the child's physical, mental, or
emotional health and development. This only applies if the
parent has failed to provide support without good cause. In
other words, parental rights cannot be terminated if the
parent is physically and financially unable to provide
support
- Failure to Provide Financial Support. Rights may
be terminated when a parent has been ordered to pay child
support or to financially aid in the child's birth and has
continuously failed to do so despite having the financial
ability to do so. T
- Unfit Parents. A parent that is unfit may have
parental rights terminated if it can be shown that the
parent has demonstrated a consistent pattern of specific
conduct before the child or of specific conditions directly
relating to the parent and child relationship which renders
that parent unable, for the reasonably foreseeable future,
to care appropriately for the ongoing physical, mental, or
emotional needs of the child. Significantly , there is also
a presumption that a parent is unfit if the his/her
parental rights were terminated to another child in the
past.
- Foster Care Placement & Continued Parental Problems.
Parental rights may be terminated if a child has been placed
in foster care because of issues that make a parent unfit
and following that placement reasonable efforts, under the
direction of the court, have failed to correct the
conditions which would allow the child to be reunited with
the parent. Additionally, rights may be terminated for
child neglect to the degree that the child is placed in
foster care.
- Egregious Harm to Child. If a child has
experienced egregious harm in the parent's care which
indicates a lack of regard for the child's well-being
parental rights may be terminated.
- Conviction of Crimes. A parent's conviction of
certain crimes may also form a basis for the termination of
that parent's rights.
When making a termination decision, the court is to rely "not
primarily on past history, but to a great extent upon the
projected permanency of the parent's inability to care for his
or her child."
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