Q: Terminating Parental Rights.
My sister has two children aged 5 and 3. My wife and I are wanting to take the 3 of them to Europe with us this Christmas, problem is finding the "father" to get the kids passports. The attorney general cannot find him to collect child support either. He hasn't seen or contacted the kids in 3 years come August. I have an attorney on retainer for malpractice suits (luckily haven't had to use yet), but he is not well versed in family law. I will obviously hire an attorney in that specialty, but first I wanted to know if it was even possible to get the "fathers" rights terminated. I just want to be able to get the kids passports and make sure that if something happens to my sister, we are able to care for the kids. Thanks!
A:
It is difficult to terminate parental rights without abuse grounds or a voluntary termination by the parent. It may be done but it is often an expensive process. I would suggest talking with your sister to see how she feels about a termination action. The next step would be to find a family law attorney who can assist with the process. Good luck!
Elaine Brown
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