Terminating a Father's Rights

[tkcmom]

My question involves a child custody case from the State of: oklahoma
I am wanting to terminate the rights of the father of my children, he has abused us, he was incarcerated for a year and a half for a felony but not pertained to the children or me. he has not paid a dime in child support, and he has made no effort to see them. he has had a drug problem but is not seeking anymore help to keep him off them, I am wanting to do what is in the best interest of my kids and I think that terminating his rights would be the best thing. my kids are scared of him and they still have problems from what he put us through, do I have the right to terminate his rights?

[Dogmatique]

Are there any court orders for visitation or child support?

When was the last time he saw the kids?

How old are the kids?

Is there proof of abuse?

[tkcmom]

yes there is orders for child support, he lost visitation until he met certain requirements, he saw the kids two years ago, the kids are around 5 and 3, and yes there is proof of abuse in the courts, so do I have the right to terminate his rights?

[Dogmatique]

You cannot terminate his rights, no - you need to ask the court to terminate his rights.

OK does allow termination based upon parental disinterest and lack of support, as well as documented abuse.
(per tit.10 § 7006-1.1 )

I do recommend you at least have an initial consultation with a local attorney. You can contact the OK Bar Association Referral Service or perhaps contact Legal Aid.

[aardvarc]

Only a court can terminate rights, and you can most certainly ask the court to do that, based on abuse, abandonment, etc.

Since visitation has been taken from him, and if he's paying child support, the court could rule in one of two ways:

a) he's already effectively out of the children's lives, but the children deserve to continue to collect child support, so things remain status quo, or

b) he's already screwed up his chances at visitation, and the children's situation is SO incredibly stable that even if mom gets hit by a bus, child support isn't necessary because there is factor X (such as a stable family support system willing, able, and financially capable of caring for the child, or a trust fund, or the children are movie stars, etc.) It'll help if you have a great will that you've drafted with assistance from an attorney.

Courts are GENERALLY unwilling to completely terminate connection between a parent and child, unless there has been conviction for an offense that presents a danger to the child, AND the other parent is remarried and willing to adopt. In other words, the court wants TWO parents available to support the children, even if only financially, whenever possible. You probably have a pretty good arguement that he has no business around the children, but if the court has already accomplished that via changing the visitation order, termination of rights will be iffy and likely dependant on you overcoming the court's strong desire to have an alternate in the wings should you get hit by a bus. The assistance of a good family law attorney could be worth their weight in gold in planning, crafting, and presenting such a scenario to the court (ie you're ready to go with papers showing the court that Aunt Jane and Uncle Joe are willing to become guardians if something happens to you, and, even better, there is some sort of trust established for the children that can aid in supporting them if need be).

[tkcmom]

My parents and I share guardenship of them right now and they are very very close to my parents and they are also close to my sister and her husband so if anything happens to me and my parents they have my sister and her husband. I am just trying to look out for my children and they have been living a stable life this long I am afraid if he comes back into the picture it will ruin everything we have worked so hard on, my children used to be outa control and cuss alot their dad taught them it was ok and that woman were beneath them, The children are doing so much better now and are happier I don't want to loose almost two years of making their lives better and them better as gentlemen instead of hulligans.

[Dogmatique]

What do you mean by "share guardianship"?

Please elaborate? Is this through the courts?

[tkcmom]

Yes it is court ordered that my parents and I share Guardenship of my children and that he has no visitation. The courts found this was the best solution to keep my children in a stable family enviroment. My parents could help since they had such a close relationship with my children to begin with and they could help get them back under control because it is a little difficult since I have more than two children. So I agreed to the terms and so did my parents but I want to make it totally offical so he can't come back into their lives