terminating fathers’ rights in tennessee
Before an adoption can be finalized, the rights of the child's parents must be terminated. The only exception to this is in the case of a stepparent adoption, where one parent maintains their rights while their spouse adopts the child. Below is a general overview of parental rights, specifically those of fathers, that need to be terminated.
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In General
In order for a child to be available for adoption, the rights of his or her parents must first be terminated, so that the adoptive parents can be granted parental rights by the court. The term "parent" can mean different things to different people. For instance, a child raised by a family friend may consider them to be a parent, although legally that may not be the case. Tennessee adoption law has very specific definitions of who counts as a child's parent, and in turn whose rights must be terminated before the child can be adopted.
Classification of Parents in Tennessee
In the context of adoption, Tennessee defines several different classes of parents:
Biological;
Legal;
Adoptive; and,
Stepparents.
Each classification carries certain inherent rights and responsibilities; however, when discussing which parents' rights must be terminated prior to adoption, the most important are biological, legal, and putative fathers, a specific classification of fathers. This is because before a child can be available for adoption, the rights of legal parents, guardians, any man declared by the court to be the legal father, and any putative fathers must be terminated.
Overview of Classifications
Biological Parents
Biological parents include the man and woman who physically or genetically conceived the child. Biological mothers are always legal parents, but not all legal mothers are biological parents.
Guardians
A guardian is a person (or entity) appointed by a court to provide care, custody, control, supervision, and protection for a child. Guardians are also authorized by the court to adopt or consent to the adoption of the child as a result of a surrender, parental consent, or termination of parental rights, or if there is no one living who is entitled to notice of the adoption.
Legal Parents
Legal parents include a few different situations:
Biological mothers (as stated above, all biological mothers are legal parents);
A man who was married to the biological mother when the child was born (or if the child was born within 300 days after the marriage was terminated);
A man who attempted to marry the biological mother of the child before the child's birth by a marriage apparently in compliance with the law, even if the marriage is declared invalid, if the child was born during the attempted marriage or within 300 days after the termination of the attempted marriage;
A man who was adjudicated to be the father of the child by a court or administrative body;
A man who executed a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity; and
An adoptive parent.
Note that a genetic test alone doesn't establish legal parentage. It still needs to be adjudicated by the court.
Putative Fathers
“Putative father” is a special classification that only applies to men. A putative father is a biological father (or alleged biological father) who meets one of the following requirements:
He has filed a Petition to establish paternity;
He has filed with the Putative Father Registry (PFR);
The child's mother has identified him as the biological father in a sworn statement;
He has been identified as the biological father by information that the court deems reliable and credible;
He has claimed that he believes he is the biological father;
His name is on the child's birth certificate (which also makes him the child's legal father);
He is living openly with the child and holding himself out to be the child's father; or
He has entered into a permanency plan or plan of care under Tennessee law.
Mothers
As mentioned before, biological mothers are always a child's legal parent, and therefore before any adoption can be finalized, the biological mother's rights must be terminated. In the case of unwed biological mothers, the mother is always the child's custodian, unless a court orders otherwise. This is even true for minors, who may themselves be in the custody of their parents still. In such a case, the parents have custody of the minor, who in turn has custody of her own baby. Finally, adoptive mothers and gestational carriers are also legal parents, whose rights must be terminated prior to the finalization of an adoption.
Fathers
Fathers in Tennessee are a bit more complicated than mothers. This is because often, it is more difficult to identify a child's father than their mother.
Because of this difficulty, Tennessee law has more "granular" classifications for fathers:
Biological;
Putative; and
Legal.
Each of these classes determines two important things. How much process the father is due, and on what grounds the court can terminate his parental rights.
Biological Fathers
Biological fathers include the man who physically or genetically conceived the child. This also includes the source of male genetic material in assisted reproduction.
Unlike mothers, biological fathers may be putative or legal, but it is not a matter of course. If he is not a putative or legal father of the child, the court does not have to terminate his rights before an adoption. A biological father who is not putative or legal does not even have to be a party to an adoption action.
Putative Fathers
This class of fathers includes most unwed fathers who are not legal fathers. If a man is a putative father, he is always a party to an adoption, unless a court has already terminated his parental rights.
Because this class includes so many men, most adoptions include at least one putative father. Some adoptions include more than one putative father. No matter how many putative fathers a child has, the court must terminate the rights of each one before finalizing the adoption.
Finally, unlike legal fathers, all grounds for termination of putative father's rights are available, which usually makes it easier to do.
Legal Fathers
Legal fathers have the same termination requirements as legal mothers. But, biological fathers are not automatically legal parents, as biological mothers are. The most common ways for men to be legal parents are to:
Be married to the biological mother at the time of the child's birth;
Voluntarily acknowledge paternity; or,
Receive an Order of Paternity as a result of a parentage action.
If a man has become a legal father in one of these ways, his parental rights must be terminated before the adoption of his child, and he is entitled to notice. To terminate a legal father's rights is more difficult than for putative fathers. The grounds for doing so are narrower, and must be proven to the court.
Interestingly, a biological father can actually displace a stepparent if he files a parentage action. Once the Court issues an Order of Paternity, the biological father becomes a legal parent, and so may contest an adoption. Remember - a DNA test by itself is not sufficient to make a man a legal father. An acknowledgment or court order is still required.
Compared to just being a biological father or putative father, being a legal father of a child provides the most legal protection. So, what is the best way to obtain that status?
Becoming a Legal Parent
Although the most common ways for a father to become a legal parent are listed above, the best advice for a father who wants to actively participate in his child's life is to file with the Putative Father Registry immediately, and then file a Parentage Action as soon as possible afterward.
Putative Father Registry
The Tennessee Putative Father Registry ("PFR") is a database of information about supposed biological fathers without legal connection to a child. In other words, it is a database for men who believe themselves to be fathers to supply their information. It serves as a "notice of intent" of a man to claim paternity by filing a parentage action. It also serves as a way for courts to ensure that all putative fathers are given notice of termination proceedings.
However, filing with the PFR is not a substitute for a properly filed parentage action, because it does not make a man a legal father. Instead, it is a "placeholder" that protects a man's parental rights until he files the parentage action. Thus, if a man believes he is a father, he should make a PFR filing in every state that the biological mother lived up until birth.
The time frame in which a man can make a PFR filing is from conception to 30 days after the child's birth. So, the PFR is most useful in infant adoption cases.
Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity
An easy way to become a legal father is to execute a Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity. A VAoP is Tennessee’s official process for parents to legally establish paternity without going to court. The VAoP is typically filled out at the hospital when. the child is born, and is a legally binding document that establishes a father as a legal parent.
Of course, because there is a presumption of paternity when a couple is married at the time of the child's birth (see above), the VAoP process is intended for unmarried couples. A VAoP is an easy way to establish legal parentage, as long as the couple gets along. However, if the couple is fighting, does not get along, or does not have the same family or parenting goals, filing a parentage action may be an easier (if not the only) way to establish legal parentage.
Parentage Action
If the couple cannot agree to a VAoP, the next step will be for the father to file a parentage action with the court. The process begins by either the mother or father filing a Petition with the juvenile court to establish paternity. A Petition may be filed in the county where the mother lives, the father resides and/or the child is located. The Petition should include information about the parties, their relationship, and the reasons why the father believes he is the child's parent (or why the mother believes he isn't). The Petition can also include a request for a DNA test, which will be evidence that the court can rely on, even though a test by itself isn't sufficient to establish legal parentage. After hearing the matter, the court will issue an order either establishing legal parentage for the father, or denying it.
Grounds for Termination
As mentioned briefly, it is easier to terminate the rights of a putative father than a legal father. Generally, the various grounds for the termination of parental rights are listed at Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-1-113(g).
The reason why it is easier to terminate the rights of a putative father is because additional grounds for termination are available in Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-1-113(g)(9). These grounds are not available for the termination of the rights of a legal father.
If the court determines that there is a basis for the termination of parental rights, the court must also determine whether termination would be in the best interest of the child. In doing so, it uses various factors.
The Bottom Line
As you can see, the law regarding parental rights for fathers gets complicated quickly.
If you believe you may be the father of a child the sooner you act, the better. Contact an attorney as soon as possible in order to discuss your goals and rights.
