On January 1, 2014, new laws went into effect clarifying and even changing the ways that the Juvenile courts terminate parental rights in Georgia. This will, in our opinion, have a significant impact on agency adoptions, stepparent adoptions, grandparent adoptions, and other relative adoptions, in particular. The new laws are more specific as to evidence the courts will consider which indicates the noncustodial parent has abandoned the child.
In adoptions, parental consent is required unless grounds exist to terminate a parent’s rights. We tend to see a lot of these situations when noncustodial parents fail to pay child support or when noncustodial parents fail to exercise visitation regularly. The new laws address these issues in a way which places more responsibility on the noncustodial parent to exercise visitation and pay their child support. Otherwise, the custodial parent can petition to terminate the noncustodial parent’s rights which if granted paves the way for a stepparent adoption. This also affects grandparent and relative adoptions.
If you are in one of these situations, please give us a call and set up a free adoption consultation. We enjoy helping create and strengthen families and would be honored to help you in making sure that the children in your care are being properly parented.