Some legal way to prove parental right

There are two ways to
terminate a parental rights,
voluntarily and involuntarily.
A voluntary termination is
agreed upon by both
parents whereas an
involuntary termination may
occur without either parent's
consent.
As an alternative to a
voluntary termination
proceeding, the natural
parent may consent to an
adoption. A consent to
adoption must comply with
strict statutory requirements.
After a decree of adoption is
entered, the natural parents
are relieved of all parental
responsibilities including
child support.
Voluntary Termination of
Parental Rights
Under Minnesota Statutes. §
260C.301, subd. 1(a) (2000),
parental rights may be
terminated voluntarily with
the written consent of a
parent who for good cause
desires termination. Even if
both parents are in
agreement that parental
rights should be terminated,
the Court must address
whether the termination is
occurring for good cause.
"Good cause" is not defined
in the statute, but has been
applied in some Minnesota
cases.
In the case entitled In re
Welfare of All, 304 Minn.
254, 230 N.W.2d 574 (1975),
the Minnesota Supreme
Court examined the purpose
and intent of the statute to
determine when good cause
could be found. The
purpose of the statute is:
First, to enable the
judicial system to legally
remove a child from a
destructive or unhealthy
home environment
without the consent of
the natural parents, and,
second, to facilitate
adoption procedures by
providing a means by
which existing parental
rights may be voluntarily
terminated.
In light of these purposes,
the Minnesota Courts of
Appeals have consistently
ruled that a voluntary
termination of parental
rights for reasons other than
to facilitate adoption works
a substantial detrimental
effect on a child, who will be
forced to look solely to his
custodial parent to meet all
of his needs. See Matter of
Welfare of J.D.N., 504
N.W.2d 54, 58
(Minn.App.1993).
The effect is that District
Court Judges are extremely
reluctant to terminate
parent's rights voluntarily
and certainly not where the
termination is not agreed
upon by the custodial
parent. It is also clear under
Minnesota law that a non-
custodial parent cannot
claim that the termination of
parental rights is being
requested in order to
remove the child from a
destructive or unhealthy
home environment, since
the petitioning party is not
custodial parent. The
likelihood of obtaining an
order terminating parental
rights is also reduced if the
custodial parent is provided
public assistance through
the county. Obviously, the
county does not want to
financially support children
when a parent who has that
obligation is available.