Terminating Parental Rights in Davis County Adoptions
Many Davis County adoption cases involve children who have lost their biological parents. But in cases where a biological parent is alive and still retains parental rights, Utah law requires that the parent either consent or that the parental rights of that parent be terminated prior to finalizing the adoption. If you are considering an adoption that may require termination of parental rights or if you are involved in a contested adoption, contact us today to see how we can help you.
Procedure for Terminating Parental Rights
The process of terminating parental rights in Davis County requires that the court be convinced not only that there are grounds for termination of a parent’s rights, but also that termination of that parent’s rights is in the best interest of the child. In some cases, parental rights can be terminated when there is no pending adoption. But in such cases, the court must be convinced that having no parent is better for the child than maintaining the current parental rights. In cases where an adoption is pending, the petitioner still has the same burden to convince the court that there are legal grounds for terminating parental rights. But it may be much easier to convince the court that termination is in the child’s best interest.
Grounds for Termination of Parental Rights
Where either a biological parent or a prior adoptive parent is still alive, still retains parental rights, and refuses to consent to an adoption, the parental rights of that parent must be terminated before the adoption can proceed and be finalized. Common grounds for terminating a person’s parental rights in Davis County adoption cases include:
- abandonment of the child;
- abuse or neglect of the child;
- the parent is unfit or incompetent;
- failure of parental adjustment;
- only token efforts have been made to support or communicate with the child
Finding an Adoption Attorney for Davis County
Adoptions can be legally complex. Choosing the right attorney to work with you throughout the adoption process is important. In some cases, there may be no opposition from a parent who has essentially abandoned their child. But it other cases, there may be vigorous opposition to a petition to terminate parental rights.
Contact us today to see how we can help you. We are pleased to offer adoption-related legal services to clients in Davis County and throughout Utah, helping them through agency adoptions, private adoptions, step-parent adoptions, single-parent adoptions, family/grandparent adoptions, international adoptions, and more.