Surrendering Parental Rights/Adoption

QUESTION:

C.S. writes: "I have a question regarding adoption/custody between here and Maryland. If a mother and father are in the process of divorcing and the mother is willing to give a child up for adoption, what would her options be? The father is in Maryland and mother is in Tennessee. The couple who want to adopt this child also live in Tennessee. The mother has 3 other small children and know that a couple could provide a safer, better environment for the child. She wants to give up the for adoption, but the father refuses."

ANSWER:

Well first off, it would be important to know what kind of relationship that this father has with his child. In this case, if the father has either joint custody or regular visitation with his child and there is no reason to believe that he is an unfit parent, then there probably isn't much that the mother can do to facilitate an adoption. Parents have an absolute right under both the Tennessee and federal constitutions to provide for the care and custody of their children, and this right can only be impeded if it is shown by clear and convincing evidence that parent is placing his or her child in some sort of danger through abuse or neglect.

However, if the father has not been a part of this child's life, (i.e. does not have custody or regular visitation), the mother is willing to surrender her rights, and there are statutory grounds supporting termination of the father's parental rights, then an adoption by prospective adoptive parents may be possible. In Tennessee in order for a child to be adopted, prospective adoptive parents must file a petition for adoption and both of the child's natural parents rights must be terminated. This termination can be accomplished through either a voluntary surrender or an involuntary termination of parental rights. A surrender is a voluntary relinquishment of rights by a parent. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-1-112. An involuntary termination of parental rights occurs after a court proceeding at which the petitioner seeking to terminate parental rights is required to prove the existence of statutory grounds for termination and that termination is in the best interests of the child. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-1-113. Terminating a parent's parental rights is difficult because the law presumes that natural parents are fit to provide for the care and custody of their children, and those alleging otherwise must prove both that there are statutory grounds supporting the termination and that the termination is in the best interests of the child by clear and convincing evidence. There are several statutory grounds for termination, and it would take several pages to thoroughly explain all of the various grounds for termination. Some of the most commonly used grounds are abandonment (i.e. a parent's wilfull failure to visit or provide support for his or her child), persistent conditions which make it unsafe for a child to return home at the present date or at any time in the near future, incarceration for a period of ten (10) or more years where the child is under eight years of age, and severe child abuse. I would need more facts about the father's situation before even trying to venture into determining whether or not there may be grounds to terminate his parental rights. Even assuming that the father's parental rights can be terminated, and that the mother doesn't back out at the last minute, the prospective adoptive parents home would have to be approved by the trial court before the adoption could go through.

I hope that this answer was helpful.