Termination of Parental Rights

Shows such as 16 and Pregnant, Teen Mom, and the Secret Life of the American Teenager increased our awareness of teen pregnancy. Since these programs took over TV, the teen pregnancy rate has dropped to an all-time low of 22.3 per 1,000 women aged 15-19. In Minnesota, the teen pregnancy rate dropped 69 percent between 1990 and 2015.

Continue Reading Teen Pregnancies and Adoption: Statistics and Resources

Minnesota is home to many loving and capable parents. Some, however, fail to provide safe, loving homes for their children. In especially alarming situations, these parents’ rights to care for their children may be taken away by the court in a proceeding known as “termination of parental rights.” This action removes the formerly legal parent’s ability to care for or make decisions on behalf of his or her child. Read on for valuable insight into parental right termination in Minnesota:

Continue Reading Termination of Parental Rights

Step-parent adoption, in Minnesota, involves four key steps: (1) termination of parental rights; (2) a petition for adoption; (3) background checks by court services; and (4) a final hearing. The first step in the process of step-parent adoption, a termination of parental rights, is the most challenging aspects of these cases. The very nature of a step-parent adoption presumes that a child’s biological parent (typically, but not necessarily, the father) has been denied the ongoing right to a parent/child relationship. Termination of parental rights …

Continue Reading An Overview of Step-Parent Adoption in Minnesota

Step-parent adoption is an enjoyable part of our family law practice. Here are a few of the key concepts: Termination of Parental Rights: Biological parent executes paperwork to terminate rights to child. Two week cooling off period applies. Petition: Remaining parent, and spouse, file Petition for Adoption with the Court with all relevant paperwork. Background Information: Some counties require a limited amount of background information gathered concerning the step-parent, including a criminal history. Hearing: Once the background check is …

Continue Reading Step-Parent Adoption in Minnesota : Key Concepts