Termination of Parental Rights for Incarceration
In Florida, the act of terminating the parenting rights of a biological mother or father is a drastic and rare undertaking. As an issue of public policy, the State of Florida intends to avoid “bastardizing” children and encourages that children have a relationship with both parents when possible. There are, however, 14 grounds for which the court may terminate one’s parental rights. This article will explain one of those grounds, incarceration.
Just because one parent may be incarcerated, even for a felony, does not automatically qualify that parent to be deemed unfit and lose parental rights. There are three situations in which the court determine that incarceration serves as grounds for termination of parental rights.
The first situation: If the parent’s incarceration is expected to last throughout the entirety of the kid’s childhood, the incarcerated parent could potentially lose parental rights. The non-incarcerated parent can not be expected to foster a relationship between the child and the incarcerated parent if it is expected that the parent will remain in jail for the most part of the child’s minority years. A shorter incarceration time can provide an opportunity for the child to eventually build a relationship with the incarcerated parent once they are released. If the incarceration is for an extended amount of time, the child should have the opportunity to move on to find another parental figure to fill the void. In making its determination, the court will also consider what exactly why the parent was incarcerated.
The second situation: If the parent who is incarcerated is deemed by a criminal court to be either a habitual violent offender, a violent career criminal, a sexual predator, or has been convicted of a particularly violent crime such as battery, aggravated battery or murder, then that parent’s parental rights could be subject to termination. Non-violent offenders who are serving time will not likely be deemed as unfit parents and will not likely lose parental rights. For instance, someone who is serving a 3-year sentence for drug trafficking and has no violent criminal history will likely not lose their parental rights and will be able to petition the court for child-sharing privileges once they are released from prison. This can be exceedingly difficult for a mother or father who does not intend on having a relationship with the incarcerated parent and would prefer that their child not be exposed to a convicted felon.
The third situation: The court can terminate parental rights of an incarcerated parent if the court finds that the minor child could be harmed if exposed to a continuing relationship with the incarcerated parent. This provision is left vague and gives the court discretion when circumstances may be complex and do not fall under one of the first two categories. The court will always strongly consider what is in the best interest of the child or children, and if the court finds that a continued relationship with an incarcerated parent could cause harm, the court has the power to terminate that parent’s parental rights.
If you would like to get more information from a family law attorney on how you can petition to have a parent’s parental rights terminated under any grounds, call Hendry & Parker, P.A. today for a free consultation.