Q: If a mother's parental rights were terminated, via court order, can she appeal to get them back and in what time frame?
In May 2022, my husband and I petitioned and were granted managing conservator rights for our granddaughter. In the same order, our granddaughter's mother's rights were terminated. Our son, the father of the granddaughter, has possessory rights. Can the baby's mother petition to have her rights reinstated and if so, in what time frame can she do it? Also is there a statute of limitations?
A:
The mother has thirty days from the date of the final judgment terminating her parental rights to file either a motion for new trial or a notice of appeal. If the mother timely files a motion for new trial, the mother has ninety days from the date of the final judgment terminating her parental rights to file her notice of appeal. There are certain rules which extend these deadlines for relatively short periods of time for example if the deadline falls on a weekend or holiday or if the clerk of the court fails to timely give notice of the final judgment.
To be clear, an appeal is not a petition to have her parental rights reinstated. On appeal, the appellate court may not consider any new evidence not presented to the trial court.
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