Birth Mother and Birth Father
Termination of Parental Rights

Birth parents have parental rights which cannot be legally ended except by appropriate state law.  Read below to find out about your rights.

The biological mother, the biological mother's husband (even if she is separated) and the biological father (if he is not the woman's husband), all have parental rights to the child once the child has been born.  The specifics of these rights and how they are ended are spelled out in the adoption law of every U.S. state and territory.

Since a child can only have one set of parents, the law requires that the parental rights of the biological mother, biological father, and the mother's husband if he is not the biological father, be ended before the child can be adopted by other persons. The ending of parental rights, called termination, surrender, or relinquishment of parental rights, ends the legal parent-child relationship. Once the relationship has been terminated, the child is legally free to be adopted.  

Sometimes the parental rights can be voluntarily ended immediately after the child's birth but sometimes it can be 3 days, 5 days, 15 days, or in excess of 30 days after the child's birth before the parental rights are finally ended; it all depends on the state adoption law.  Due to the seriousness and permanent nature of ending parental rights, every state has strict requirements that must be met prior to making this decision and specific requirements on how the parental rights are to be ended.

You may want to check the state adoption laws on the website ChildAdoptionLaws.com, under the heading "termination of parental rights", of the state in which the birth father and birth mother reside.  You will also find the Child Welfare Information Gateway articles Termination of Parental Rights and Grounds for Involuntary Termination of Parental Rights to be helpful.

Birth parents who wish to place their children for adoption may voluntarily relinquish their rights as discussed above.  However, there may be times when the birth parent(s will not relinquish their parental rights voluntarily but their parental rights can be terminated involuntarily if certain conditions are met.  For an involuntary ending of parental rights most state laws require that a parent be found unfit through one or more specific reasons and that ending the biological parent-child relationship will be in the child's best interest.  The most common grounds for the involuntary ending of parental rights include those listed below, but remember that each state has its own requirements:

• Severe or chronic abuse or neglect of the child or of other children in the household
• Long-term mental illness or deficiency of the parent or long-term alcohol or drug-induced incapacity of the parent
• Abandonment or failure to support or maintain contact with the child
• Felony conviction of the parent for a crime of violence against a child or another family member, or a conviction for any felony when the length of the incarceration is such a length of time as to have a negative impact on the child.

For related information please visit the link Birth  Father rights and the Adoption Services website page Adoption Laws and Rights.