How to file an involuntary TPR

I am a single father of one child, my son. Back in 2005 dhs brought me the child because he had been taken from his mother for neglect and abuse. After a year went by and I had no idea how to contact the mother I went and filed for a change of custody. She did not show up to court and sole physical and sole legal custody was granted to me. It has been 5 years since the child was taken from the mother, she has not called, visited, sent mail, presents etc. She has done nothing to see this child. I go into court on July 19 2010 because she was not paying her child support. We go in and an agreement cannot be made so I request to see a judge about the support.

We go in front of the judge and this guy she calls her boyfriend ( who was making serious threats in the waiting room but thats another story) whispered out loud to her to ask for visitation. Well the worker who is doing our case takes her down to the friend of the court and fills out the paperwork for her to get a motion regarding parenting time. So now after five years, after completely abandoning this child she now all of a sudden wants visitation. Of course I am fighting this and I have an attorney, with very strong evidence that she abandoned this child, has not supported the child in any way, and the report from dhs which shows she was suppose to get help in order to get the children back. Which she has not attempted to do. Well I checked with the Michigan website and found out that these are grounds for termination of parental rights. I have the evidence. The only question I have is where do I go to file for this hearing? Is there a form or petition I have to file? I called the county clerk and she said she had no idea what the form would be called. But she was also laughing before we ended communication. My attorney has not been very helpful and has not explained this to me.
Thanks for taking the time to read this

[Prodoggie]

Unfortunately I fear you're not going to like what I'm about to tell you.

Even though she was absent for 5 years, if she has now requested parenting time you're going to have a very hard time convincing a judge NOT to award what is basically a constitutionally-protected right.

Had you filed a year ago you would have been in much better standing but the bottom line is that yes (even after so long), she will likely be granted (assuming she files something in court) a graduated, supervised visitation schedule which will (if all goes well) lead up to overnights and longer periods (weekends, longer periods in the summer etc.).


Your attorney should explain this further; but basically if Mom wants to be a part of the child's life, she'll generally be allowed that chance.

The question was how do I file for an involuntary. It's not that I'm mad at what you say. I love when people come on here and make the judge's decision for him. Even if your right I still have evidence that cannot be ignored and the judge's decision can always be appealed. Is there a form, petition, do I bring it up during referee hearing, trial date? That was the question. How do I file one? I just want to know where to get the paperwork. thanks anyway

[Prodoggie]

Speak to your attorney.

You can ask the court clerk for the necessary documents. The court clerk can assist you in determining the forms you need. I hope this helps. Good luck.

Well I already asked the county clerk about those forms and she said she has never heard of any such form. She would not go into detail on how to file for it either. When I bring this up to my attorney it just seems like he wants to make an agreement with the other party. Guess its time to file a greivance on this attorney and the county clerk. Thank you all for trying to answer the question but once again I was let down by another fake law website. This will be my last reply to this site. I hope you all go through this with a child as well. That way when you all want help I can give wrong answers as well. The michigan bar will definitely hear about this bull**** site.

You have an attorney already handling the case and you are on a public discussion board trying to get legal answers from the general public.

Take control. Tell the attorney what you want and have him answer in writing.

Originally Posted by Unregistered Well I already asked the county clerk about those forms and she said she has never heard of any such form. She would not go into detail on how to file for it either. When I bring this up to my attorney it just seems like he wants to make an agreement with the other party. Guess its time to file a greivance on this attorney and the county clerk. Thank you all for trying to answer the question but once again I was let down by another fake law website. This will be my last reply to this site. I hope you all go through this with a child as well. That way when you all want help I can give wrong answers as well. The michigan bar will definitely hear about this bull**** site.

Taking your frustrations out on the people who responded to your saga is not the appropriate way to handle the situation. Furthermore, the Michigan Bar cannot and will not do anything about your complaint regarding this site as, if you look at the bottom of the page, you can clearly see this: Questions and information submitted in the Forums are assumed inquiries for general information and not legal advice. What this means is, this forum is public and people with any or no legal expertise are free to answer questions. No threat of a lawsuit from either an attorney or the Michigan Bar will change this, and neither can do anything about it or the answers you received.

People gave you advice that was sound. You were advised to speak to an attorney, and even though you claim you have an attorney, you still chose to come to this site and seek "legal" help from people who are not attorneys. You are dissatisfied with the advice your own attorney is giving you. You were advised to speak to the court clerk at your local district court. You were dissatisfied with the responses you received there as well. If that clerk was of no assistance, you were free to ask to speak to a supervisor or someone who was more adept at their job description. No doubt you gave the clerk attitude and he/she no longer wanted to deal with you.

This website is not "fake" as you put it. Atop every page is the "Ask an Attorney" section, in which, for a small fee, you could have presented your questions to an actual attorney and gotten an answer. I doubt you would have been satisfied with that answer as well, as, you have already stated you are going to file a grievance against your own attorney, the country clerk, AND this forum. You seem to be dissatisfied with any and all answers you receive. Complaining about it is not going to get you anywhere but more stressed out. If that's the path you choose to go down, so be it. You came to the wrong section of this website if you wished to receive answers you want to hear. Perhaps more than you need an legal advice, you might need psychological counseling.

Your attitude is probably a large factor in why you are getting nowhere with the professionals you come into contact with.

Excerpt taken from the Child Welfare Information Gateway states this:

Michigan
Circumstances That Are Grounds for Termination of Parental Rights
Comp. Laws § 712A.19b
The court may terminate a parent’s parental rights to a child if the court finds, by clear and convincing evidence, one or more of the following:
The parent has failed to comply with a case plan that was designed to remedy conditions that led to the • child’s out-of-home placement.
The parent has failed or neglected, without good cause, to provide regular and substantial support for the • child for 2 years or more.
The parent has regularly and substantially failed or neglected, without good cause, to visit, contact, or • communicate with the child for 2 years or more.
The parent has failed to provide proper care or custody for the child, and there is no reasonable expectation • that the parent will be able to provide proper care and custody within a reasonable time.
The parent is incarcerated for such a period that the child will be deprived of a normal home for more than 2 • years, and the parent has not provided for the child’s proper care and custody.
Parental rights to one or more siblings of the child have been terminated due to serious and chronic neglect • or physical or sexual abuse, and prior attempts to rehabilitate the parents have been unsuccessful.
There is a reasonable likelihood, based on the conduct or capacity of the child’s parent, that the child will be • harmed if he or she is returned to the home of the parent.
The parent abused the child or a sibling, and the abuse included one or more of the following:•
Abandonment of a young child » »
Criminal sexual conduct involving penetration, attempted penetration, or assault with intent to penetrate» »
Battering, torture, or other severe physical abuse » »
Loss or serious impairment of an organ or limb» »
Life threatening injury» »
Murder or attempted murder» »
Voluntary manslaughter» »
Aiding, abetting, attempting to commit, conspiring to commit, or soliciting murder or voluntary » »manslaughter

Circumstances That Are Exceptions to Termination of Parental Rights
Comp. Laws § 712A.19b
If the court finds that there are grounds for termination of parental rights, the court shall order termination of parental rights and order that additional efforts for reunification of the child with the parent not be made, unless the court finds that termination of parental rights to the child is clearly not in the child’s best interests.

Perhaps if you took this to your attorney you might start getting somewhere. He or she can draft up a Petition to Terminate Parental Rights. If your attorney isn't giving you the help you need, fire him and hire another one. Consult with attorneys before hiring. Interview your attorneys before you make the decision to have them represent you. This cuts down on unnecessary money and time expenditures.

Tone down your attitude. It's getting you nowhere and if how you present yourself on here is any indication of how you present yourself to courts and attorneys, your petition will be viewed as vindictive, frivolous and non-credible.

[Prodoggie]

You hope that we all have to go through this?

Please don't pass this horrendous attitude down to your child/ren.

They deserve MUCH better.