Lawrenceville Divorce Attorney

Parental Rights in Lawrenceville & Gwinnett County

There is no doubt that getting a divorce becomes far more difficult and emotionally involved when you have children together. It can become difficult to find balance when you might have to share custody of your child, or even accept a less frequent visitation schedule allowing alternating weekends and once a week visitation instead of seeing your child everyday as you are normally accustomed to. As a divorcing parent, it's important to learn and understand your parental rights in a divorce, that way you can be at the greatest advantage when creating your parenting plan. A Lawrenceville divorce attorney from the Fox Firm, P.C. can help explain your inherent parental rights in more detail.

What are your parental rights?

Parental rights refer to your legal rights and obligations as a parent. These include: your right to legal and physical custody of your child, your right to have access and visitation to your child, your obligation to support your child, your obligation to feed and clothe your child and provide shelter, your obligation to make sure your child attends school, and your obligation to provide a safe and nurturing living environment for your child where they can grow. Failure to protect your child, get them medical help when they need it, or meet any of your other responsibilities for your child can result in child abuse or neglect.

Terminating Parental Rights

Under certain circumstances, parental rights may be terminated; this can happen either voluntarily or involuntarily. Voluntary termination of parental rights can occur when a parent is charged with child abuse or neglect and decide they are not able to provide a safe home environment for their children. Or, in other cases termination of parental rights can occur when the parent doesn't wish to be involved in the child's life, or if the child is going to be legally adopted by their step parent. However, termination of parental rights does not necessarily absolve the parent of paying any child support parents that are in arrears.

What's more, even if you decide to terminate your parental rights, you still might be responsible for paying child support until your child reaches the age of 18. If you are interested in learning more about your parental rights or the termination of parental rights, contact a Lawrenceville & Gwinnett County parental rights attorney from our firm today.

For more information about parental rights, contact a Lawrenceville divorce lawyer from the firm to schedule an initial consultation.