Legal Question in Family Law in Arizona

Re: Parental severance

There may be some additional information needed before I can answer your question, but I�ll try to be clear when I am making an assumption about your situation.

I assume you did not have an attorney representing you. If you did, you should talk with your attorney about legal options you have. If it was a court appointed attorney, check with the local office that makes assignments to see the procedure is for getting a different attorney to assist you. You might have to hire an attorney.

There are limitations on challenging court orders, a limited number of days to appeal�check with the clerk of court to be sure you don�t miss any deadlines.

I assume the severance was done by the Juvenile Court in your county based on a Dependency Matter, with possible allegations of abuse or neglect. If the severance was conducted in some other way, more details would be needed to address your concerns. I assume you had notice of the court action pending. If not, file something IN WRITING explaining why you didn�t know about the court case ASAP (as soon as possible). I work in Cochise County and the court here provides lots of notice to any parents before court action for severance is taken. I have seen situations where a parent is asked to attend training or counseling to assist in developing better parenting skills, but for whatever reason the parent does not follow the steps ordered by the court. If you were asked to do things by the court and failed to do them, you�ll have a very hard time overturning a severance order.

In a severance order, the Judge will list specific reasons for the order. You will need to be able to �prove� the findings were incorrect. This means you need witnesses, documents, other proof beside just your own testimony. To file an appeal, make sure you put that type of supporting information in written form.

Good Luck,