Using Adoption to Remove Parental Rights

Can you use adoption to terminate or remove parental rights? If you’re looking out for a small child in your life that may be in an abusive or dangerous situation, then this question is a concerning one. Adoption secures full termination of all parental rights, and it is possible for the court system or legal systems to work on securing those rights in the best interest of the child.

That, however, doesn’t mean that anyone can start the adoption process to end the parental rights of another person. When it comes to managing parental rights, the State of Texas often favors that children stay with parents as long as it’s in the best interest of the child. If you’re looking to remove a child in Texas from a potentially dangerous situation, then you have a fight ahead of you. An experienced Houston Texas adoption attorney can help you.

Adoption – Building a Better Life

The entire purpose of adoption is to build a better life for the child and to build a family around them. Many people lose track of that when they start worrying about the parental rights involved in the process.

When you look at the loss of parental rights, some people feel unsteady in continuing the pursuit of adoption. But ultimate, the goal is still the same. You’re still trying to build a better support system and life for this child. Loss of parental rights is sad, and for many people, it causes some ethical or moral debate.

Adopting a Child in a Dangerous Situation

When children are facing neglect or abuse, there’s no one there to represent them other than the adults in their life. If you know, a child in your life is experiencing neglect or possibly being abused, then taking action will often lead to the removal of parental rights or the attempt to remove rights. Parental rights are the rights that the state recognizes following the birth of a child.

Parental rights include physical custody of the child, residential custody, or the right to have them live with the parent, and legal custody. Physical custody often comes down to visitation. When it comes to adoption, the adoptive parents are under no requirement to extend visitation to biological parents after an adoption.

Residential custody is often revoked before the adoption process starts when people are moving to terminate parental rights. That means that the child would not be living with the parent and that the parent has no right to have their child living with them.

Legal parental rights refer to the ability of the biological child to make legal and medical decisions for their child. When a person adopts a child, they absorb all parental rights, including legal rights.

Can You Adopt Without Parental Consent?

In an amicable adoption situation, the parents would give consent to the adoption by waiving their parental rights. That is a voluntary adoption. However, when there’s suspicion of abuse that goes out the window. Often addicts, drug users, abusers, and more don’t feel compelled to give up their parental rights. Many believe that they are good parents or that they can become good parents.

Situations such as these will call for involving the state. There are state laws on domestic adoption, but in Texas, it really boils down to what is the right move for the child. When you’re looking to adopt a child, you might have to start by seeking custody and then eliminating the parental rights individually.

For example, you might start by seeking custody of the child and involving the state Department of Family and Protective Services. At that point, a representative of the state would be involved in family affairs. They would help make a choice and take action on removing the child and restricting visitation rights. Then the adult could pursue adoption, which may take months or even years, depending on the situation.

Working with LGBT-Friendly Adoption Attorneys in Houston

Our Houston LGBT friendly law firm works with the LGBT community to secure adoptions and give these children an opportunity at a better life. With that in mind, contact Eddington & Worley to start the process of your adoption case. If you’re looking to adopt a grandchild, niece, nephew, or child or a close friend, then you’ll need someone on your side. If the parents involved don’t want to surrender rights, then it may escalate to involving children’s welfare and other government offices.

Contact Eddington & Worley to learn more about parental rights and how adoption impacts those rights.