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My question involves a child custody case from the State of: Minnesota
I want to have my ex's parental rights terminated. He refuses but he only sees them a few times a year and breaks their hearts every time. My husband wants to adopt them. What can I do to have his rights taken away?
Have your ex agree to a stepparent adoption.
Other than that, it is not likely to happen unless you can prove that your ex has abused and/or neglected the children to the point where the State steps in.
Unless you can prove that he is an unfit parent (very difficult to do), there's not much you'll accomplish. His actions toward the child(ren) would have to be very egregious to convince the Court to remove his parental rights.
Your best bet is to make the absolute best of things as they are.
If you think you have a chance at making him out to be the "dad from hell", you'll probably need a bulldog, cutthroat attorney.
And get the kids into counseling - if they're "heartbroken" after seeing Dad only a few times a year, they may need to be learning better coping skills.
And, this isn't just about dad's rights. For the court, it's about the CHILD'S right to their natural parent, even if only a few times a year. As other posters have suggested, unless dad is WILLING to sever his ties to his children, or unless dad is found to be unfit, an adoption against dad's will isn't going to be approved by the court. Better to encourage more frequent interactions, even if not in person (phone, skype, email, webcam, FaceBook, etc.), and counseling if extended periods between visits is problematic.