Legal Question in Family Law in Kentucky

It is not possible to give you a clear legal answer to your inquiry without a more detailed evaluation of the facts of your case. There are two basic types of parental rights termination: voluntary and involuntary.

Generally, a parent cannot file for voluntary termination of parental rights. The only exception would be if one parent is re-married and that parent�s new spouse wants to adopt the child. Then the ex-spouse could consent to the adoption, thus terminating his parental rights, so the new spouse could adopt the child. However, be aware that if the new spouse adopts the child, he will then continue to have legal rights to the child until the child becomes an adult, even if the parent and adoptive parent should later get divorced.

Courts are concerned with the �best interests� of children, and will ordinarily not allow voluntary termination of parental rights simply because of failure to contact or to get a parent �off the hook� for child support.

Involuntary termination of parental rights is covered by Kentucky Statutes: �� 600.020(2); 610.127; 625.090. These laws spell out the circumstances that are grounds for involuntary termination, to include:

Abandonment

Abuse/Neglect

Mental Illness or Deficiency

Alcohol or Drug Induced Incapacity

Felony Conviction/Incarceration

Abuse/Neglect or Loss of Rights of Another Child

Sexual Abuse

Child in care 15 of 22 months (or less)

Felony assault of child or sibling

Murder/Manslaughter of sibling child

You should not take any action, based upon my advice, without consulting an attorney and explaining all the facts to him. You are best advised to seek the services of a competent Kentucky attorney. You can telephone your local bar association for a referral, or can find a good lawyer on-line at the Kentucky Bar Association's Lawyer Referral Service:

http://www.kybar.org/Default.aspx?tabid=291

Good luck!

Thomas A. McAdam, III

Attorney at Law

234 South Fifth Street

Louisville, Kentucky 40202

(502) 584-7255

[email protected]