Philadelphia, PA asked in Family Law for New Jersey

Q: How can I have my daughter's father's parental rights terminated?

My daughter's father has been MIA for about 7 to 8 years. He recently filed for a modification for his visitation. He never showed up to court. The judge dismissed it. He is on drugs and in and out of jail and doesn't pay child support. How can I have his rights terminated?

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1 Lawyer Answer
Bari Weinberger
Bari Weinberger
Answered
  • Parsippany, NJ
  • Licensed in New Jersey

A: Hello and thanks for asking your question. I'm sorry-this is an incredibly frustrating situation for any parent having to deal with this, and, unfortunately, you are not alone. This situation is all too common and many parents are left to throw up their hands.

The bad news is this: you cannot have his parental rights terminated. A court, usually at the request of DYFS (now DCPP), has to be the one to terminate parental rights, and being an irresponsible parent is simply not grounds for termination of parental rights. In New Jersey, both parents have equal responsibility to at the very least financially support their children and you cannot get away from that. Unless you have another person who is ready, willing and able to adopt your child and take over all the responsibility for raising your child as their own, the court will not entertain a request by you to terminate your ex's parental rights.

The good news is that you have the ability to file a response to his request to change his parenting time and ask the court to suspend his parenting time. You have to show the court that stopping the parenting time is in the best interests of your child, so it's important to stress that he's been irresponsible, untrustworthy and perhaps using drugs which could put your child in danger. Remember, you have the burden to show that ending parenting time is in your child's best interests and it is not an easy thing to prove, especially since courts favor a lot of involvement of both parents in kid's lives. But, you raise significant and valid concerns.

Talk to an attorney to get a strong game plan in place so you know what your rights are as well as what your responsibilities are. It's a great idea to at least have a consult so that you are prepared to move forward. Many attorneys offer free consultations, as we do. Regards, Bari

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