Deprivation of a child's father of parental rights: grounds and procedure

Deprivation of parental rights, including that of the child's father, is possible only in court. This procedure requires the participation of certain persons, compliance with established procedures and rules, and the results of this procedure have very specific legal consequences. How to deprive a child's father of parental rights? What are the grounds for depriving a father of parental rights, how is a lawsuit filed, what documents are needed to deprive a child’s father of parental rights? You will find answers to these questions in the article.

Grounds for depriving the rights of a child's father
Claim for deprivation of parental rights of the father: sample
Documents for deprivation of parental rights

Grounds for deprivation

There are many reasons for depriving a father or mother of rights to a child. But you can’t just go ahead and carry out this procedure. You need to go to court, and the court will determine whether the specified reason is a serious reason.

Standard reasons are contained in Art. 69 RF IC:

Abandonment of a newborn child in the maternity hospital. The mother must write a corresponding statement.
Abuse of parental rights. In this case, the child may be deprived of basic needs for communication with peers or medical care due to the beliefs of the parents.
Malicious failure by a person to fulfill parental responsibilities. Mom or dad may leave the child in danger, starve him or refuse to raise him.
Refusal to pay alimony. It is also grounds for deprivation or limitation of parental rights.
Physical or mental abuse of a child. Screaming, beating and other methods of bullying a minor are unacceptable.
Committing a crime against the sexual integrity of a child.
Parental alcohol or drug abuse.
Mental disorder of the parent.
Committing a serious crime against a child or his relatives (for example, mother).

When considering the case, the court will take into account all the circumstances. There are cases when one offense is not enough to use such a strict measure as deprivation of parental rights. For example, delaying child support or accidentally leaving a child in danger will not lead to this.

Claim for deprivation of parental rights of the father: sample

If there are legally established grounds, an application to deprive a father of parental rights may be submitted by:

the child's mother (regardless of whether she lives with the child);
persons replacing parents (adoptive parents, guardians, trustees, adoptive parents);
prosecutor;
body or institution charged with protecting the rights of minors.

The claim for deprivation of the father's rights (sample) can be viewed and downloaded here

In the statement

it is necessary to indicate what exactly and how exactly the rights of the child are violated and how the unlawful behavior of the father (who is the defendant) is manifested). In the link above, the sample claim for deprivation of a father's parental rights contains, as an example, a list of violations against the child by the father.

A statement of claim for deprivation of rights must be filed with the district court at the place of residence of the child’s father. If the claim contains both a demand for deprivation of parental rights and for the collection of alimony, the plaintiff may file such a claim at his place of residence.

Going to court

Any interested party may apply to the court. And it doesn't have to be the second parent. Often this is done by the guardianship authorities or even the police if their employees become aware of the relevant facts. In any case, you need to have real evidence that the parent is a threat to the minor.

If the child is already 10 years old, the court may ask his opinion about the relationship with his parents. The opinion of employees of the guardianship authority and the prosecutor's office, who are required to be in the courtroom when considering such cases, is also taken into account.

How to deprive a citizen of Belarus of paternity rights

To file a claim for deprivation of parental rights, you need the total arrears of alimony in a calendar year to exceed a total of 3 months and you have applied to the government authorities for forced collection of alimony, you must have witnesses that for a long time (at least 1 years) Your ex-husband is not interested in the life and health of the child, that his behavior and lifestyle negatively affect the development of the minor’s personality, it will be in your favor if your spouse is registered with the police, even if these were calls for a family scandal, registered with the police psychoneurological clinic for alcoholism or other diseases.

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Documentation

Papers that may be required in court can be divided into informative and those that act as evidence. Informational ones include:

Certificate confirming the birth of the child. The defendant must be indicated by the parent.
Certificate of registration (divorce), if the parties are or were spouses.
Papers confirming the paternity of the defendant. Such documents include, for example, the results of a DNA test.
Documents confirming the fact that the minor lives with the defendant.
Copies of personal documents.
Certificate confirming payment of the fee.

If the interests of one of the parties are represented by a third party, then a power of attorney certified by a notary will be required.

As for other documents, different papers are provided in each individual case:

Documents confirming that the defendant is not raising a child, is not interested in him, etc. These include certificates and characteristics from a school (kindergarten), medical institution. Teachers, doctors and other officials are required to attest to the fact that the parent does not come with the child to extracurricular activities, meetings, medical examinations, etc.
If the defendant does not help financially, then the court should be provided with all the papers relating to the collection of alimony. But for non-payment of alimony, rights can be deprived only if a collection procedure has been carried out.
Abandonment of a child in the maternity hospital.
Medical documents and certificates if the fact of physical abuse of a minor is established.
Medical documents confirming that the parent has alcohol or drug addiction.
A psychologist's conclusion that the child was subjected to moral violence by the defendant.
Documents confirming the involvement of a minor in an immoral lifestyle.
A copy of the conviction if the defendant committed a criminal offense against a child or other relative. Sexual crimes are also taken into account.

Copies should be made of all documents. It is also better to record testimony on paper.

Statement of claim

A lawsuit is another important document for depriving a person of parental rights. You can draw it up yourself, or you can entrust it to a lawyer. Three copies should be prepared, since two statements must remain with the plaintiff and defendant, and the third - in court.

In any case, the document must include the following points:

name and address of the court;
information about the parties - full name, contact numbers;
information about marriage (divorce), if the claim is filed against the ex-husband or wife;
information about a minor;
a description of the circumstances indicating the defendant’s failure to fulfill his parental rights;
demand to deprive him of his rights in relation to the child;
list of documents;
date and signature.

At the same time, it is possible to recover alimony from the defendant, since deprivation of parental rights does not exempt from the provision of financial assistance.

Documents for deprivation of parental rights

The following documents are submitted to the court along with the statement of claim:

child's birth certificate;
divorce certificate (if available);
documents confirming the unlawful behavior of the father who is the defendant;
power of attorney (if the interests of the plaintiff in court are represented by another person).

One of the important stages of preparation for trial is the collection of documents and evidence that may be the basis for depriving a parent (child’s father) of his rights. Documents to deprive the father of his rights are very important in court proceedings. Such documents, in particular, may be:

statement about the father’s refusal to pick up the child from the maternity hospital;
a court decision finding the child's father guilty of committing a crime against the life or health of the child;
certificate of non-payment of alimony;
a court decision to collect alimony and/or a court order;
arrears of alimony as of the date of filing the claim in court;
certificate of search for the father as alimony payer;
information about police calls;
certificates from the emergency room;
sick leave;
medical report on the child’s father’s chronic illness of alcoholism or drug addiction;
conclusion of the guardianship and trusteeship authority on the living conditions and upbringing of the child;
photographs, videos, letters, recorded testimony confirming the grounds on which the father can be deprived of parental rights.

A statement of claim for deprivation of parental rights is not subject to state duty, so there is no need to pay state duty.

As a result of the trial, the court, taking into account the analysis of the grounds, makes a decision either to deprive the father of parental rights or to refuse to satisfy the demands for such deprivation.
- statement of claim for deprivation of parental rights

Peculiarities of consideration of family disputes

The procedure for deprivation of rights is regulated by two legal acts: the Civil Procedure Code and the Code on Marriage and Family.

You can file a claim on a territorial basis, i.e. at the place where the defendant or plaintiff resides. Disputes are considered by Belarusian courts when children and parents are registered in the territory of the Republic of Belarus, or the child has Belarusian citizenship. The rule is established by clause 2 of the Resolution of the Plenum No. 7 of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus.

5 nuances associated with deprivation of paternity:

Questions about termination of parental rights are not considered when the child has acquired legal capacity before reaching the age of majority.
If a claim is filed by a person who is not endowed with the appropriate rights, the judge will refuse to accept the claim.
Only the mother or father can be the defendant. You cannot bring a claim against guardians or trustees. However, a guardian can be removed from duties when he abuses his rights (Article 138 CoBS). The issue is resolved by specialists from the guardianship department.
The obligatory participants in the process are the prosecutor and the guardian. Authorized officials give their opinion on the case.
It is impossible to deprive the rights of a citizen who has withdrawn from performing duties for reasons that do not depend on him. For example, there is a chronic or mental illness. Alcoholism and drug addiction are not taken into account.

How to apply for alimony without divorce in the Republic of Belarus?

Being married does not always guarantee that both parents will take equally good care of the child. To collect alimony, it is not always necessary to get a divorce; you can start by filing an application for alimony while in an existing marriage. It is allowed to collect alimony for both the spouse and the child himself.

Where to go?

If voluntary payment of alimony is not applicable, the court can force a decision on payment. The statement of claim in this dispute must be filed at the place of residence of either spouse.

What documents are needed?

To collect without divorce, you will need to provide the following documents:

a statement with the obligatory indication of your requirements;
child's birth certificate;
information about the defendant’s income (salary, benefits and other sources of income);
information about the children’s place of residence and family composition;
marriage certificate, passport;
confirmation of payment of state duty.

Is it possible to deprive the rights of one parent?

Deprivation of the rights to raise one of the parents is not much different from deprivation of the rights of a mother and father at the same time. But there is one caveat. The action must be initiated by one of the citizens who is the child’s parent (mother or father), a third party or the competent authorities. A special claim is drawn up and must be submitted to court. The application indicates the reason (reasoned), full name and date of birth of the plaintiff and other important data.

In Belarus, the plaintiff must be exclusively the child, but his interests must be represented by a second party, who is a guardian or a temporary person defending the interests of the minor.

A claim can only be filed against the parents recorded in the birth certificate. Next, the guardianship authorities will consider the situation from all sides and come to a reasoned conclusion. The final decision can be appealed, but the process will take a long time.

Advice from a lawyer: how to deprive a parent of parental rights if the child was born out of wedlock

In this regard, it is obvious that, contrary to the expectations of the author of appeal No. 1, the court does not have the right to take the position of any of the parties and assist it in justifying its position (there are lawyers for this). The only thing the court can help with in this part is, at the request of a party, to assist it in obtaining specific evidence that the party points to, if it cannot obtain it independently due to objective circumstances (but for this you need to know what to ask for) . In particular, the author of appeal No. 1 is indeed obliged to confirm the fact of the child’s father’s failure to pay alimony for his maintenance, because this circumstance is one of the main ones on which she bases her claims.

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