Legal Question in Family Law in Arizona
I am trying to determine if we have grounds to terminate the rights of my stepsons biological mother. I have two stepsons, ages 6 and 7. My husband and their biological mother separated in 2007 and later divorced. Since then, her visits and phone calls have diminshed to nearly nothing. We moved from Illinois to Arizona in 2009. She was still in Illinois at this time. Between December 2009 and May 2011, she called the boys very rarely, approximately once every 3-4 months. Each phone conversation was only 2 or 3 minutes long. In May of 2011, she called my husband and told him she was living in Arizona. She did not speak to the boys or ask to speak to them at this time. She did not call again until October 2011. She was living 30 miles away from us the entire time. She had not seen them since December 2009, and made no attempt to see them until October 2011. In October 2011, she spoke to the boys for 2 minutes each. This was October 5. She had not spoken to them since Easter, April 23. On October 5, she told my husband she wanted to meet with him to discuss visitations. He met with her October 8 and told her if she wanted to reestablish a relationship with the boys, she would need to be reintroduced to them in public settings with him around, until he could determine if she was committed to being a mother to them. She agreed. She has not contacted him or the boys since. She did not call on Thanksgiving. December 6 was my youngest stepson's birthday, and she did not call him. She has two other children, a daughter, age 9, that lives in California with her biological father, and another daughter, age 3, that she left in Illinois with that biological father when she moved to Arizona in May. She is currently pregnant with twins with yet another man. She has never paid one cent of child support to my husband. She has never once sent a Christmas gift or birthday gift to the boys. She has been arrested a few times in the past couple years, for DUI, driving on suspended license, and shoplifting. She has never maintained regular contact with the boys, or her other children. My husband and I married in September 2010, and I have been a stay at home mom to them since, and give 100% effort to raising them and being a mom to them. Do we have grounds for termination even though she has never gone a full 6 months with no contact? She went 5.5 months and then had a 2 minute conversation, and now it has been another two months since then. The average time between calls is 3-4 months. Sorry to ramble on, just trying to make sure you understand all of the details. Thank you!
2 Answers from Attorneys
Generally, it takes a six-month period of no contact to support "abandonment" as the grounds for a termination of parental rights; however, the long pattern sporadic visits may also be relevant. We offer a free initial consultation, so I recommend you call our office (480.792.9770) to arrange an appointment with Attorney Laura Monte - she handles most of our cases of this type, and she can let you know whether you have grounds to proceed.
I would believe that this would present a strong case for abandonment. We would argue that her "contact" did nothing to maintain a relationship with the children. No attorney, or course, can guarantee results.
We can certainly help you consider and then pursue your options for Terminating mother's rihts (and the subsequent step-parent adoption). This is obviously a very important matter, and you should not go in alone.
One of our attorneys can explain the issues and procedures better in person. As you can imagine, there is too much to cover via email. We offer free 1/2 hour consultations, in which we can discuss your matter in detail.
Please call us directly to discuss the specifics of your matter, or contact my assistant Alicia or my paralegal Jennifer to schedule your free 1/2 hour consultation.
/s/ Rich J. Peters
R.J. Peters & Assoc., P.C.
1422 North 2nd Street, Suite 100
Phoenix, Arizona 85004
602-254-7251
facsimile 602-254-1229
see our website at www.familylawaz.com
Arizona case law does support that maintaining contact needs to be a
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