Can I Get Back My Relinquished Rights as a Parent in New York?
The state of New York deliberately makes voluntary termination of parental rights difficult. Most commonly, a parent's wish to relinquish his or her right is only granted in the case of adoption or stepparent adoption, where another adult is offering to take financial and legal responsibility for the child or children. Once the rights have been relinquished, the child is legally adopted. Finalized adoptions are very difficult to overturn.
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Termination of Parental Rights
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There are many different ways that parental rights may be terminated. Often, one parent voluntarily relinquishes rights so that a stepparent can legally adopt the child. The biological parent is then freed from all future financial responsibility but must pay any outstanding child support to the other parent. In some cases, both parents decide to give up their rights to the child, usually when the child is still very young, and they sign paperwork allowing the child to be adopted by another family. In other cases, parental rights are terminated involuntarily by a judge after a child has been abandoned, neglected or abused.
Adoption and Aftereffects of Termination of Rights
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Once a parent or parents have signed consent forms relinquishing their rights, the child is free for adoption. If rights were relinquished by one parent so that a stepparent can legally adopt, the other parent and the stepparent will go to court and have the adoption finalized. If both parents relinquished the rights to the child either voluntarily or involuntarily, the state will take custody until a permanent home can be found unless a relative is already in place to assume responsibility for the child. Once parental rights have been relinquished, the biological parent or parents no longer have any legal rights for visitation or other contact with the child.
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Exceptions
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If a parent has relinquished their rights and allowed their child to be adopted by another adult but now wishes to have a say in the child's life, there is some precedent for unusual family situations being substantiated by a court. In 1985, an Alaska couple wished to allow a third person to adopt their child without either biological parent giving up rights. The court granted their request, and all three adults were considered legal guardians.
Child Preference
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First and foremost, courts act in what the judge feels to be in the best interest of the child in question at all time. Moving between homes and caregivers is stressful for a child and shouldn't be taken lightly. This is why courts make it difficult for parents to relinquish their rights and are almost always unwilling to overturn adoptions once they have been finalized. However, judges are willing to listen to what a child has to say. Stepparent adoption in New York state cannot move forward if the child is over the age of 14 and does not consent to the adoption. Even if parental rights have been relinquished and cannot be reinstated, older children can express a wish to their legal guardians to have a relationship with their biological parents as long as the relationship is a safe and healthy one.
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