Sometimes a parent in the Idaho Falls area wants to terminate his or her parental rights, or the parental rights of the other parent.
It’s important to realize that, if successful, termination of parental rights results in giving up all rights and responsibilities to the child. That means no custody or visitation rights, no child support obligations, and no inheritance right.
Even if both parents want one parent to lose parental rights, and both sign a Stipulation to that effect, a third party also has a say in the matter. That third party is the judge. If the judge is worried that the remaining parent would have difficulty providing for the child alone, the judge–at least in Idaho–may not allow the termination of parental rights. A judge usually will allow it if a step parent wants to adopt, and both natural parents want the termination of parental rights to go forward.
Termination of parental rights is also a possibility when the parent has abandoned the child.