Rochester Minnesota Termination of Parental Rights (TPR) Lawyer

Termination of Parental Rights (TPR) Attorney Minnesota

Termination of Parental Rights (TPR) is a legal action that terminates all of the rights of a child’s parents with respect to making decisions for a child or caring for that child, severing the legal parent-child relationship.  A TPR renders the child available to be legally adopted by someone other than the child’s biological parents. Termination of Parental Rights cases are emotionally charged and very complex. We encourage you to contact us if you have questions about TPR as a Rochester Minnesota family law attorney(LINK) may be able to help.

Categories of TPR

There are two main TPR categories:

• Voluntary Termination; and
• Involuntary Termination

Voluntary Termination

A Court may terminate the rights of a parent to a child with the written consent of the parent who for good cause desires to terminate their parental rights.  The desire to avoid paying child support is never "good cause.” The most straightforward and common voluntarily terminations occur when another party is “waiting in the wings” to adopt the child, for instance, in a step-parent adoption situation.  However, a judge will still need to determine whether the parental rights are being terminated for good cause.  For a further discussion, see our Adoption page.

In general, courts are very reluctant to terminate parental rights. Sometimes, custodial parents are simply frustrated with the lack of participation and support they receive from the non-custodial parent and want that parent’s rights terminated. In such cases, even if both parents favor termination, it is highly unlikely that the voluntary termination of the non-custodial parent will be granted. Further, if the custodial parent receives public assistance, the courts will not approve a termination because the support of the child will continue to rest with the public in the absence of another parent to provide child support.

Involuntary Termination

An Involuntary TPR action is usually brought to the court by the office of the county attorney following a recommendation from the social services office. In a few cases, an Involuntary TPR proceeding can be privately initiated. For a termination of parental rights action to be successful, the moving party must prove to the court by clear and convincing evidence that:

• the parent has abandoned the child;
• the parent has repeatedly refused or neglected to comply with the duties imposed upon that parent by the parent-child relationship, including providing the child with necessary food, clothing, shelter, education, and other care;
• the parent has been ordered to contribute to the support of the child or financially aid in the child's birth and has continuously failed to do so without good cause;
• the parent is palpably unfit to be a party to the parent-child relationship;
• following the child's placement out of the home, reasonable efforts, under the direction of the court, have failed to correct the conditions leading to the child's placement;
• a child has experienced egregious harm in the parent's care which is of a nature or duration that indicates a lack of regard for the child's well-being;
• the child is neglected and in foster care.

A last thing to keep in mind is that while a TPR extinguishes a parent’s responsibility to provide future support for the child, it does not erase any arrears that were accumulated until the day the termination was final, and these arrears continue to be the responsibility of the biological parent.

Request a Free Consultation

If you have additional questions about Termination of Parental Rights in Minnesota, please contact the Dilaveri Law Firm today. We always offer free initial consultations to our clients. Call  507.206.6020 or complete our free case evaluation form.