I have received many questions about the similarities and differences between a surrender of parental rights and a termination of parental rights. While the end result is often the same when the parental rights and responsibilities of a parent are permanently severed, there many differences to be aware of.
Similarities
• Both are proceedings that
Petitions to terminate parental rights involve fundamental parental rights and responsibilities. Because the statutory grounds to terminate must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt, and the judge must also find that it is in the child’s best interests, it is important to understand the legalities and make sure that your case is well-presented. For
Continuing the series of You Tube videos, this edition discusses a very important hearing in your case: the temporary hearing. Watch to find out why, and what you need to do to be prepared and help achieve a good result.
Here are the forms you need for a divorce temporary hearing with children:
New Hampshire’s “best interests” statute lists out several factors that the court should use to determine best interests. Many of the factors are little wordy, and as a whole the statute misses some of the very basic issues that must be considered when creating a parenting plan that is in the child’s best interest.
When
Blog posts have been sparse lately, and here’s why: Administrative Order Number 2011-03. I’ve posted several times about the impending demise of the GAL fund, and it is finally coming to fruition. Judge Kelly’s administrative order, issued on April 19, 2011, requires GALs in all GAL fund marital cases (this excludes abuse/neglect, TPR, guardianship
Back in September 2009, the so-called New Hampshire homeschooling case (In the Matter of Martin Kurowski and Brenda Voydatch) grabbed national headlines when the court ordered the parties’ child to attend public school instead of continuing with home schooling. Home school supporters decried the decision, arguing that the order trampled the mother’s constitutional rights to raise
The Merrimack Family Division is almost here! The Judicial Branch posted the following announcements on its website:
The Hillsborough South marital department will be closed to the public except for emergency filings from Monday, December 6 through Thursday, December 9. The closing will allow staff uninterrupted time to process cases in preparation for the reopening of the department on Friday
Unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures. On days where the rest of the New Hampshire government remains open for business, the entire Judicial Branch will close and its employees will take unpaid furlough days in order to accomplish expenditure reduction. The Supreme Court explains these closures in Administrative Orders 2010-03 and 2010-05. The upcoming furlough
“Surely there can be few loses more grievous than the abrogation of parental rights.” Those words are as true today as they were when Supreme Court Justice Blackmun first wrote them in Lassiter v. Department of Social Services in 1981. Unfortunately, there are times, however grievous, when it is necessary to terminate parental rights against a
As discussed in a previous blog post, in New Hampshire every parent is required to take the Child Impact Seminar within 45 days of the date that the Respondent (formerly known as Defendant) is served with the divorce or parenting petition. I have received a few e-mails recently asking where to sign up, so