What Does Voluntary Relinquishment of Parent Rights Mean?
The voluntary relinquishment of parental rights form is a legal document that allows a parent to voluntarily give up all parental rights to their child. Although this process is often associated with stepparent adoptions, relinquishment to a state or county agency to facilitate foster care or adoption can also occur. It also occurs in cases where the biological parents can nominate the people with whom they want to have the child reside. For the child, voluntary relinquishment is typically a means for achieving permanency when his or her biological parents cannot or will not be able to care for him or her.
Pennsylvania law provides the form that is to be used for voluntary relinquishment of parental rights . Parents seeking to relinquish their rights send the completed document to the Department of Public Welfare (DPW), which then has 30 days to act on or decide whether to act on it. The voluntary relinquishment of parental rights form serves to remove a child from his or her biological parents so that he or she can be adopted by another set of parents.
A biological parent may not know whether he or she is going to be successful in a rehabilitation program. That is why there is a mandatory six-month waiting period for an adoptive parent of a child who was relinquished. During that time, the biological parent might be successful in his or her rehab program, and there is the 30-day period that the DPW has to act on the relinquishment request. In the end, the biological parent must decide whether relinquishing parental rights is the best decision for the child.
Why Voluntarily Relinquish Parent Rights?
Parents may choose to voluntarily relinquish their parental rights due to a number of circumstances. Perhaps the most common scenario is one in which a child is relinquished for adoption. Regardless of whether you are choosing to give your child to an extended member of the family, or to allow a completely unrelated party to adopt your child, signing the parental rights relinquishment form is often the first step to allowing someone else to adopt your child.
Less common reasons for relinquishing your parental rights include a personal situation such as severe illness, inability to care for your child, the juvenile court has determined the child to be neglected or abused, or the alternative is relinquishment before the child is even born in the event you became pregnant and wish to give the child up for adoption but have no idea who the father of the child is.
Completing the Relinquishment of Parent Rights Form
You will find the Voluntary Relinquishment of Parental Rights form all over the internet. The form is routinely used people that are signing the relinquishment form without any kind of guidance or help. However, it does not take much time to understand how to fill out the paperwork and have it done properly. If a parent is relinquishing their rights in a public agency, (Department of Children and Family Services for instance) the agency representative will bring the form to the parent where it is in the foster home. If the parent is signing the form through the court system where the surrender of parental rights proceeding is pending, the document will be brought to the parent at court. In either case, the parent is entitled to get a copy of the completed document to keep as a permanent record. The problem arises when a parent shrugs the form off on an unsuspecting friend or family member. Most people know what a power of attorney is, so if you have someone with some knowledge of these things see that you need a form to surrender your rights, they will obtain the right one for you. But, if they go to the wrong place or get the wrong form, the child custody proceeding will last that much longer. There are very basic things that have to be included in every Voluntary Relinquishment of Parental Rights form that a parent is signing. If the signature of the parent is not proper, the signature cannot be used. Because the parent has to sign the form in front of a designated individual, the Notary Public, it is important to figure out who will be the Notary for the document. In every state, if the parent else the Notary Public, their signature will not be valid. Once the correct form has been obtained, the parent will fill in their name and explanation. This must be exact. The parent must also fill in their address, date of birth, and other required information. When a parent is relinquishing their rights in Cook County, Illinois, or DuPage County, Illinois, they will also fill in the name and address of the organization the child is placed with. If the placement is with an agency, the case number will be provided by the caseworker for the parent to include on the form. The relinquishment form will then be given to a Notary Public to sign. This is the same procedure across the board. Once the Voluntary Relinquishment of Parental Rights form is completed, the case will move forward with whatever the court has selected as the next step in the case.
Legal Action Following Relinquishment of Parent Rights
Once the voluntary relinquishment of parental rights form is filed with the appropriate family court for a potential stepparent adoption or a grandparent adoption, the legal process progresses with the involvement of a family court. The family court first makes sure that all parties are in agreement that the petition is to be granted and regulates the appropriate hearings and timelines. If there are any complications, such as if the non-consenting parent is incarcerated and unable to attend a visitation hearing, a subpoena is often issued to the parent to compel his or her attendance. If there is still no appearance by the parent on the date of the hearing, his or her parental rights will be considered voluntarily relinquished by court order. Depending on the place of residence of the relinquishing parent, the time frame for the judicial process to be complete can range from a few months to a year or more. If the relinquishing parent does appear at the marriage petition hearing, a court reporter is often present to record the entire proceeding. The relinquishing parent must be aware that he or she must still grant permission for the marriage parent adoption by signing a waiver form or giving a verbal statement of support. Provided that the consenting parent requests an expedited ruling, the court will then either approve or deny the petition and often finalize the adoption the same day.
Impact of Relinquishment of Parent Rights on Child Support and Custody
Understanding the Voluntary Relinquishment of Parental Rights Form
Relinquishing parental rights involves a major change in the obligations and entitlements that someone has in relation to their child. Any and all legal responsibilities of the relinquishing parent will end if the child is permanently adopted by an individual or couple and the adoption is finalized. There will no longer be any legal need for that parent’s consent to decisions about schooling or healthcare. In addition, the child will have no right to inheritance from the biological parent, nor will the biological parent be considered a beneficiary in any personal estate planning documents or through their will. Because the biological parent will no longer have any responsibility for caring for the child once parental rights are relinquished, that parent will not have a need to pay child support moving forward. (The adopted parent may be under legal obligation to pay child support to a different parent, however.) Likewise , the biological parent will no longer be entitled to receive child support if the child is adopted, and other visitation or custody rights with the child will no longer be valid if the adoption is finalized. The only time relinquishing parental rights does not eliminate this responsibility is if the biological parent gives up rights to an alleged child, but the child is actually determined to be the biological child of the individual based on a DNA test. In these situations, the relinquishment of rights does not impact the biological parent’s responsibility to pay child support. If the relinquishment of parental rights is being done via adoption to a stepparent few of these changes will impact the abandoning parent as the stepparent is effectively taking on the role of a parent. The relinquishing parent will still need to agree to allow the new stepparent parent to adopt the child, but the consequences of doing so in terms of parental rights and obligations could be less impactful because the new stepparent would already assume the duties of parenting the child.
Possible Objections to Relinquishment of Parent Rights
While the Voluntary Relinquishment of Parental Rights form may seem like a straightforward assessment by Child Protective Services, the decision to relinquish parental rights is a significant one and could be fraught with potential challenges and considerations. In order to proceed with relinquishment of parental rights, certain criteria must be met. Pennsylvania’s Juvenile Act requires that a court establish a ground for relinquishment, and find that the relinquishment is in the best interest of the child.
In addition, relinquishment of parental rights is not just a decision undergone solely by a parent and Child Protective Services. Voluntary relinquishment requires a finding by a judge in court. Due to the impact of relinquishing parental rights, the court will appoint a law guardian to represent the interests of the child. Parents relinquishing their rights must understand that a voluntary relinquishment of parental rights form will not be signed until the appropriate individuals have been heard on the matter and a judge makes a determination.
Parental rights can be relinquished by parents who have children that are in the custody of children and youth services and must be relinquished before a termination of parental rights proceeding can begin. The forms must be completed and filed with the court before the adoption process can proceed. However, parents should consider a number of factors before signing a voluntary relinquishment of parental rights form, including:
The decision to relinquish parental rights is a critically important one, and should not be taken lightly. While a form may not be able to be used instead of the court process, it can be used as a guideline to help parents proceed through the relinquishment process. The determination of termination of parental rights is a heavy decision that may impact a family for generations. Therefore, determining relinquishment of parental rights and termination of parental rights should not be taken lightly. Before signing a relinquishment form, it is in the best interests of the child and the parent to consult with legal counsel.
Reversal of Voluntary Relinquishment of Parent Rights
In some circumstances, parents who have given up their parental rights through a "Voluntary Relinquishment of Parental Rights" could seek to reverse that relinquishment and have their parental rights restored.
This can be a time-consuming process. Once parents voluntarily relinquish their parental rights, the local Department of Children and Families usually initiates a petition in the Juvenile Court to terminate the birth parent’s parental rights. The effect of this proceeding is to deprive the birth parent of all parental rights and obligations to that child.
Once the birth parent loses those rights, he or she cannot get them back without a very clear showing of "sufficient cause" to do so. These cases are very unusual, but not unheard of.
The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts has held that if a parent relinquishes his or her parental rights (with the consent of the Court, or even on his own) but later wishes to assert them, then the parent may petition for restoration of those parental rights. Such a petition can be granted upon a finding that the relinquishment of parental rights was based on fraud, undue influence, duress, coercion, the making of a material false representation , or the withholding of a material fact.
An additional factor could be the ability of the parent to care for the child from whom he or she has been separated. Specifically, the parent must show to the satisfaction of the Court that his or her ability to care for the child has changed to such a degree that the child’s return to the parent presents no substantial risk of harm.
While separated from a parent, a child could become bonded with an adoptive parent(s). In that case, the child’s bond with his or her adoptive parents shall be considered in determining whether to restore parental rights.
Such a petition is entirely separate from a petition to rescind a judgment of adoption. A petition seeking restoration of parental rights must be filed within six months after the entry of the judgment terminating parental rights. A petition to rescind an adoption could be filed at any time.
It is difficult to make such a petition. On the one hand, the Court will not allow relinquishments to be undone lightly or easily. On the other hand, the parent also has a "parental claim" to the child, and generally should not be deprived of all parental rights and responsibilities. It remains to be seen how strictly the Court would insist on any and all of the factors above. The ability of a parent to care for a child legally adopted by someone else usually should trump.