When a father or mother shies away from their direct duties as parents regarding the upbringing and maintenance of their child, we can talk about the deprivation of such negligent father or mother of parental rights. This case is considered solely in court proceedings, and in order to present it before the eyes of justice, it is necessary to correctly write a statement of claim regarding the deprivation of parental rights. This article will discuss what exactly is a good reason for depriving a parent of their rights, what legal consequences after depriving a child of their rights will follow after a trial, and a sample of a statement of claim for deprivation of parental rights will also be presented.
Who can sue
In order to avoid confusion, the law provides for a certain circle of persons who can become the initiator and draw up a claim for the deprivation of the right to a child. These include:
- father or mother;
- guardian or trustee;
- representative of the prosecutor's office;
- guardianship and trusteeship bodies, who are engaged protecting children's rights.
Thus, any unauthorized person cannot apply for the deprivation of parental rights, the model of which is presented in the article, but he can file a petition with a specific authority, which may lead to legal proceedings.
Reasons and grounds
Depriving one of the parents of the rights to the child is undoubtedly one of the most difficult litigation, since the decision made by the court concerns not only the plaintiff and defendant, but also the minor child who needs both parents. And here you need not only a well-composed statement of claim for the deprivation of parental rights, but also significant reasons along with their evidence. The main good reasons that can be considered as a basis for depriving a father or mother of a child’s rights are described in article 69 of the Family Code. The reasons may be the following situations:
- Evasion from fulfilling the immediate duties of the father or mother, including malicious evasion of the maintenance of the child by non-payment of alimony.
- Refusal to pick up a child from a medical (including maternity), educational and educational institution, as well as from social security authorities without a good reason.
- Abuse of parental rights, which is expressed in rough treatment of a child, constant humiliation of human dignity, insult and obstruction of education, inculcation of bad skills.
- Unsuitable treatment of a child, expressed in cruelty of both psychological and physical nature, as well as an attempt on sexual integrity.
- Deliberate commission of actions that entailed a deterioration in health or a threat to life.
Claim notes
When deciding to deprive one of the parents of the rights to a child, it is necessary to understand that this measure is extreme, and therefore must be justified by good reasons.
The claim for the deprivation of parental rights must necessarily be based on one, or rather on several points described in this article.
Evidence of Parental Misconduct
So that the court could satisfy the statement of claim, it is not enough just to indicate the reasons by which the plaintiff substantiates his decision.This procedure is quite complex and time-consuming, and here you need to collect a lot of arguments and evidence. The following events may be considered as such:
1. Reported appeals to law enforcement agencies regarding the father’s violence against the child or mother or mother’s violence against the child. In this case, it is imperative to carry out a medical examination in which the damage to health will be recorded. In addition to this, you can write police statement on father or mother with a request to bring to justice the aggressor according to Art. 144 and Art. 145 Code of Criminal Procedure. This statement will be a good proof of illegal actions when a statement of claim for deprivation of parental rights will be drawn up.
2. Appeals to the bailiffs who prove malicious evasion of payment of money as alimony. In fact, it does not always turn out to prove that non-payment is intentional, and the parent specifically hides his income so as not to pay for the maintenance of the child. First of all, to use this basis, it is necessary for the parent to have arrears in child support (a certificate of such is required for proof), and he should be held liable for non-payment and deliberate concealment of income.
3. Evidence of witnesses who will characterize the father or mother on the negative side will become sufficiently significant evidence during the trial. This also includes the characteristics of the educators and teachers of the child that the father or mother do not participate in the life of the child, as well as characteristics from work. If the negligent parent is registered in the relevant institution for alcoholism or drug addiction, you can take a certificate of his diagnosis.
Appeal to guardianship authorities
Before you write a statement of claim about the deprivation of parental rights and put it into action, you need to contact the guardianship authority, presenting copies of the following documents there:
- birth certificate of a child;
- certificate of divorce;
- extract from the passport office about the people registered in the apartment (or from the house book of a private house);
- certificate of financial condition of the personal account of the apartment.
If there are documents on hand confirming the inappropriate attitude of the parent towards the child, which may well become evidence for the deprivation of rights to the child, then they must also be submitted to the guardianship authority.
Actions of guardianship authorities
Employees will visit the housing of both parties (the plaintiff with the child and the defendant) and draw up acts.
This procedure is carried out in order to get an appropriate opinion from this institution regarding the living conditions of the child and the parent who needs to be deprived of rights.
If the child is more than 10 years old, then he will need a written statement with consent regarding the deprivation of the parental rights of the father or mother. This decision should be exclusively voluntary.
The child’s opinion and statement will also need to be attached to the claim. The sample claim for the deprivation of parental rights presented in this article will help to draw up this document yourself without a lawyer.
Drawing up a claim
To correctly prepare the application, you can contact the legal office, where experienced lawyers will help not only to state the requirements for the defendant, but also justify the plaintiff’s decision to resort to such an extreme measure. You can also take a sample claim for the deprivation of parental rights and, following the rules of preparation, fill out all the necessary information.
This statement will be considered by the prosecutor and representatives of the guardianship authority, who will express their opinion in the trial together with all the witnesses and the parties.
It is worth noting that the most predictable result of a court decision can be obtained if the statement is an initiative of bodies that advocate for the rights and interests of children.
It is very important to understand that any document has its own rules, and therefore, if mistakes are made in the preparation of the claim, it will not be accepted for consideration. To prevent such, you can use a standard form. The claim for the deprivation of parental rights, drawn up in accordance with all the rules, and the documents attached to it will become the key to a positive decision for the plaintiff.
The consequences of parental disqualification
Once a decision has been made to deprive the father or mother of the right to raise a child, article 71 of the Family Code will come into force, which clearly describes the legal relationship between the child and the deprived parent. Moreover, all property rights are reserved for the child, a parent deprived of rights still remains obliged to support the child financially. At the same time, the parent loses all the benefits and allowances, as well as the right to apply for child support in old age.
After six months after the court decision, adoption by parents who have been deprived of their rights is possible.
