What Are the Grounds for Parental Rights Termination in Arizona?

Terminating parental rights can be painful, whether you do it voluntarily or the court does it against your will. A judge may take away your parental rights if the court determines you can’t or won’t take proper care of your child for various reasons. Arizona family law attorneys say that there are multiple grounds for parental rights termination, including, but not limited to, the following:

  • Abandonment of the child
  • Adoption
  • Mental health issues of the parent
  • Substance abuse by the parent
  • Extended imprisonment of the parent
  • Domestic abuse by the parent

Once you suspect that you’re about to lose your parental rights, you can take steps to remedy the situation. However, it’s crucial to note that termination of parental rights is not necessarily the same as losing child custody. You can lose custody of your child but retain parental rights, meaning you can still make decisions concerning your child and be involved in their upbringing.

What Are the Consequences of Parental Rights Termination?

Child custody lawyers in Surprise say that once the process is complete within the legal framework, the relationship between you and your child will be severed. Your legal duties, privileges, and obligations will permanently end. You can no longer decide where the child lives, their medical care, or where they go to school.

If you and your child’s other parent involuntarily lose parental rights, the child may be placed with another family member for adoption or permanent guardianship if the court deems them fit. The child may also be placed in foster care if you voluntarily give up your parental rights.

What Can I Do to Defend My Parental Rights?

Being served with parental rights termination papers can be stressful and scary, and figuring out what to do can be challenging. However, ignoring the papers won’t make the case go away, and you would rather seek legal counsel from skilled child custody attorneys in Surprise to fight for your rights.

Failure to attend the court hearings may make it easier for the petitioner to terminate your parental rights uncontested. Family law lawyers in Arizona advise that you take the following steps to attempt to defend your rights:

Read the Papers Carefully

While you might panic at the sight of parental rights termination papers, child custody lawyers in Arizona say that you shouldn’t worry. The court has not ordered anything yet, and the papers only tell you what the other parent wants from the court and when the hearing date is. The documents you may have received are:

  • Petition to terminate rights: You may agree or disagree with all or part of the petition. Indicate next to each item whether you agree or disagree.
  • Notice of hearing: It indicates the court hearing date, and it’s crucial to attend so that you can explain whether you agree or disagree with the termination of your rights.

If you’re an active military service member and your service prevents you from attending the hearing, you could ask the court to “stay” the proceedings. Seek legal advice to understand how to approach the issue.

Fill Out Your Answer

Your response to the petition entails filling out your answers and telling the judge and the other parent what parts of the petition you agree or disagree with. Your answers will form the basis of what the court must deal with during the proceedings. Remember you have 21 days to file an answer in one of the following ways:

  • By mail
  • Online
  • In-person

If you miss the deadline, ensure you still attend the court on the date indicated on the Notice of Hearing. You can still submit your answers on that day, even if you didn’t manage to file them. Work closely with legal experts for legal support and representation.

Serve the Answer

Once you file your answer, you also must send a copy to the petitioner who filed the request to terminate your parental rights. Ensure the other party gets the copy, which you can send through regular mail or their attorney.

Once you serve the documents, fill out a Certificate of Service, which informs the court how, when, and where you served the papers. File the certificate with the court to complete this step.

Attend the Hearing

Ensure to attend the termination of parental rights hearing if you want to defend your rights. The judge will evaluate arguments presented by both parties. If the judge needs more information, they may set a trial to examine evidence and hear from witnesses.

During the trial, you can defend your parental rights and prove why terminating them would not be in your child’s best interests. The trial can be emotionally charged and complicated to navigate on your own. Consider retaining experienced child custody attorneys to represent you. They can aggressively fight for your rights by presenting solid arguments.

An Experienced Family Lawyer Defending You Against Termination of Your Parental Rights

Having the court sever your parent-child relationship can be stressful, especially if you believe the decision is unfair or against your wishes. Fortunately, the court allows you to defend your rights, so ensure you follow the correct legal procedure to avoid making mistakes that could increase the risk of losing your child legally.

Experienced Surprise child custody attorneys at The Dodds Law Firm, PLC, can walk with you through this journey. We have over three decades of experience helping clients navigate difficult legal situations. Whatever family law issue you have, our legal team can provide legal counsel and representation. Call us at 623-267-0026 to schedule a 30-minute consultation.