“The family court may order the termination of parental rights upon a finding of one or more of the following grounds and a finding that termination is in the best interest of the child: (2) The child has been removed from the parent pursuant to subarticle 3 or Section 63-7-1660 and has been out of… Continue Reading
South Carolina Adoption Law Blog
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Artificial Insemination
Posted in Adoption, Biological Father, Consent and Relinquishment, Notice, Termination of Parental RightsArtificial Insemination is mentioned one time in the South Carolina adoption statutes under the Responsible Father Registry statute. The implication is that a father who consents to artificial insemination continues to have rights to the child and may preserve those rights by filing with the Responsible Father Registry. Section 63-9-820(L) of the South Carolina Code of… Continue Reading
Service of the Petition for Termination of Parental Rights on the Child
Posted in Adoption, Consent and Relinquishment, Notice, Termination of Parental RightsThe service of the petition for termination of the parental rights must be served on a child if the child is fourteen years of age or older; and it must be served on the child’s guardian if the child is under the age of fourteen. The direct service on the child that is fourteen years… Continue Reading
Withdrawal of Consent or Relinquishment
Posted in Adoption, Consent and Relinquishment, Family Law, Notice, Termination of Parental Rights“Withdrawal of any consent and relinquishment is not permitted except by order of the court after notice and opportunity to be heard is given to all persons concerned, and except when the court finds that the withdrawal is in the best interest of the child and that the consent or relinquishment was not given voluntarily… Continue Reading
TPR: Abandonment
Posted in Termination of Parental RightsA parent’s rights may be terminated if the parent abandons the child. Abandonment of a child is when a parent wilfully deserts a child or wilfully surrenders physical possession of a child without making adequate arrangements for the child’s needs or the continuing care of the child. Section 63-7-20(1) of the South Carolina Code of Laws,… Continue Reading
Consent and Relinquishment and TPR without Adoption
Posted in Adoption, Biological Father, Consent and Relinquishment, Family Law, Termination of Parental RightsTerminating a parent’s rights or taking his consent and relinquishment without a pending adoption primarily occurs in DSS cases. The Court approving a Consent and Relinquishment or terminating a parent’s rights without a pending adoption is rare in private actions. The person would have had to have done something egregious to warrant a Court terminating… Continue Reading
ICWA and Adoption Law Part 3: Recent Case Law
Posted in Adoption, Biological Father, Custody, Family Law, Interstate Adoption, Termination of Parental RightsAdoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, a minor under the age of fourteen years, Birth Father, and the Cherokee Nation is a great view of how the South Carolina Supreme Court interprets ICWA and how ICWA meshes with South Carolina adoption law. Enjoy!… Continue Reading
ICWA and Adoption Law Part 2 (Involuntary Termination)
Posted in Adoption, Biological Father, Family Law, Termination of Parental RightsIn addition to following South Carolina Termination of Parental Right Statutes under Section 63-7-2570 of the South Carolina Code of Laws, as amended, or the Notification Statute under Section 63-9-730 of the South Carolina Code of Laws, as amended to terminate an Indian parent’s rights, the petitioners must follow the requirements of the ICWA. Specifically, the… Continue Reading
Interstate Termination of Parental Rights and PKPA and UCCJEA
Posted in Adoption, Interstate Adoption, Termination of Parental RightsParental Kidnapping Prevention Act (PKPA) and the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) may apply to your termination of parental rights cause of action if an order for visitation and/or custody was entered in another state. You are only required to file a termination of parental rights cause of action if anyone who… Continue Reading
Husband: Presumptive Legal Father
Posted in Adoption, Biological Father, Consent and Relinquishment, Custody, Family Law, Termination of Parental Rights“In South Carolina, there is a common law presumption that a child born during lawful wedlock is a child of the marriage.” Fisher v. Tucker, 388 S.C. 388, 697 S.E.2d 548 (S.C. 2010). “No judgment of divorce from the bonds of matrimony shall render illegitimate the child begotten of the marriage.” Section 20-3-200 of the… Continue Reading
TPR: Best Interest of the Child
Posted in Adoption, Family Law, Termination of Parental RightsIn my TPR: Clear and Convincing Evidence, I explained the burden required to terminate a parent’s rights. Even if you can overcome that burden, you still need to show that the termination is in the best interest of the child. Trying to define the best interest of the child is like herding cats; I try to figure… Continue Reading
TPR: Clear and Convincing Evidence
Posted in Adoption, Family Law, Termination of Parental RightsTwo of the most common grounds I use to terminate the parental rights of an individual when my clients are seeking to adopt a child are willful failure to support the child and willful failure to visit with the child. Though I may technically have the grounds to terminate the parent’s rights, I have to… Continue Reading
DSS: 15 Months in Foster Care
Posted in Family Law, Termination of Parental RightsOne of the grounds to terminate a parent’s rights is if the child has spent 15 of the last 22 months in foster care. The Courts in ruling on this ground for termination of parental rights will need to ask why the child has been in foster care for 15 months and is this delay… Continue Reading
TPR:According to the Parent’s Means
Posted in Adoption, Custody, Family Law, Termination of Parental RightsIn South Carolina, a petitioner may ask the court to terminate a parent’s rights if “[t]he child has lived outside the home of either parent for a period of six months, and during that time the parent has wilfully failed to support the child. Failure to support means that the parent has failed to make… Continue Reading
Consents and Relinquishments Made Simple (Part 1)
Posted in Adoption, Consent and Relinquishment, Family Law, Termination of Parental RightsA Consent and Relinquishment( "Consent") is an adoption attorney’s best tool for a smooth adoption. With one from each parent in hand , the adoption will be made final with few or no problems with few exceptions. Executing a consent can be as easy as executing a simple will or as complicated as executing a complex contract between… Continue Reading
Another Attorney’s Analysis of Roe v. Reese
Posted in Adoption, Biological Father, Consent and Relinquishment, Family Law, Termination of Parental RightsIn my last blog, I talked about the ramification of the recent Roe v. Reese decision on father’s rights and the effects it has on my clients; my take seems to be elementary compared with Gregory S. Forman’s take. You can read his take at his blog. … Continue Reading
Supreme Court: Father Needs to Grasp Opportunity and Accept Measure of Responsibility to Protect Rights
Posted in Adoption, Biological Father, Consent and Relinquishment, Custody, Family Law, Notice, Termination of Parental RightsIn Roe v. Reeves, the adoptive parents appeal a family court’s decision where the birth father claims his consent was necessary prior to another couple adopting his child. The family court agreed with the father; the Supreme Court reversed stating that the father did not undertake sufficient good faith effort to assume parental responsibility and… Continue Reading
Which Fathers Need to be Named as Defendants in an Adoption?
Posted in Adoption, Biological Father, Consent and Relinquishment, Family Law, Notice, Termination of Parental RightsAny father whose consent and relinquishment is required must be named a defendant in an adoption proceeding if he does not consent and relinquish his rights. If the child was conceived or born during the marriage of husband and wife whether or not the husband is the actual father, the husband’s consent and relinquishment is required. If he… Continue Reading
Updated Adoption Legislation
Posted in Adoption, Family Law, Termination of Parental RightsGovernor Sanford signed into law a Senate bill that is aimed at speeding up the transition from foster child to adoption on 25 May 2010; the legislation became law immediately upon the governor signing the bill. I have copied the legislation from www.scstatehouse.gov for your convenience. "Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State… Continue Reading
Daniel’s Law: Safe Haven for Abandoned Child and His Parents
Posted in Adoption, Custody, Family Law, Termination of Parental RightsSection 63-7-40 of the South Carolina Code of Laws, as amend, provides distressed young women and men an opportunity to surrender a new born child without being prosecuted for abandoning the child. The above section provides that a person who leaves an infant at a safe haven or directs another person to do so must not… Continue Reading
Putative Father Registry: Fathers Step-up or Shut-up
Posted in Adoption, Biological Father, Family Law, Notice, Termination of Parental RightsThe text below is extracted from www.justia.com and gives a great summary of a U.S. Supreme Court Case involving unwed fathers’ rights and the putative father registry. After reading this case, I doubt the new South Carolina Responsible Father Registry will have any serious U.S. Constitutional challenges. U.S. Supreme Court Lehr v. Robertson, 463 U.S. 248 (1983)… Continue Reading
John Doe RIP: Responsible Father Registry is Law 1 Januarly 2010
Posted in Biological Father, Notice, Termination of Parental RightsIs John Doe dead? Jenny Horne, a co-sponsor, of the new Responsible Father Registry law says yes in an article she wrote in The Summerville Journal Scene: The Responsible Birthfather Registry Act will require fathers who wish to be notified of a termination of parental rights proceeding to take the affirmative step of registering with a… Continue Reading
Two Common Grounds for Termination of Parental Rights
Posted in Family Law, Termination of Parental RightsTermination of parental rights (TPR) is the process by which all future rights and responsibilities of the biological parents are terminated. Two of the more frequently used grounds for the termination of parental rights in a private adoption action are: The child has lived outside the home of either parent for a period of six… Continue Reading
Unmarried Father’s Parental Rights Terminate After Thirty Days
Posted in Biological Father, Family Law, Notice, Termination of Parental RightsUnder South Carolina’s notice statute, the parental rights of an unmarried father who is required to be notified are terminated if he does not request a hearing within thirty days after receiving the required notice. Though the statute does not directly state the father’s rights are to be terminated it does require the adoptive parents to… Continue Reading