Let’s say you divided up your time with your kids between you and your ex-spouse during your separation or divorce. You soon realize the living conditions they are being subjected to aren’t in the best interest of your child, which means being around that parent could be harmful to your child in many different ways. So, what can be done? Can you terminate the other parent’s rights to see their child? How would this be accomplished? While the courts will generally work to ensure that the initial plan set in place is going to be in the best interest of the child and that both parents are actively playing a role in the kid’s life, sometimes this just doesn’t work out.
If this is something you are currently dealing with, now would be a good time to speak with Lansing family law attorney Stuart R. Shafer. The fact is, you can’t just take a child away from a parent who currently has visitation rights which means you are going to have to go through the court system to get this accomplished. With the right lawyer, you may be able to have the other parent’s rights terminated given there are grounds for requesting this.
What are the grounds for a parent to have their rights terminated?
There are certain grounds where a parent might lose their rights to see their children and some of these include:
- Abandonment
- Abuse or neglect
- Mental illness or deficiency
- Incarceration
- Sexual Abuse
- Murder of the child’s sibling
- The parent has not had contact with their other children.
- The parent’s rights were terminated for another child.
- The parent failed to provide the required child support.
Keep in mind that just because you identify with one of these reasons for wanting to terminate the parental rights of your child’s other parent, it won’t guarantee termination, according to Livestrong. However, if a child is being physically, verbally, or even sexually abused, you aren’t going to want to continue sending them to live with this parent, but, you are going to need an East Lansing child custody attorney working on your behalf.
Now, there are other ways for a parent’s rights to be terminated. They can voluntarily decide to relinquish their rights but certain circumstances must be met before a court is going to place the burden of caring for a child or children on one parent. Each child custody matter differs from the next which means the criteria that must be met in your situation might not be required in another case. To gain a better understanding of when and how you can terminate the rights of your child’s other parent, contact the Law Offices of Stuart R. Shafer, P.C. We provide our services to those residing in Charlotte, Dewitt, Grand Ledge, East Lansing, Lansing, Okemos, and St. Johns. You can contact our firm now by calling 517-487-6603 where we will be glad to schedule you for a consultation that will allow us to discuss the important details of your matter.
