Parental Rights Lawyer in Pittsburgh

Serving Families in Allegheny County Since 1999

If parents undergo a divorce, they typically retain certain rights in their child’s care, including custody and visitation. Married birth parents automatically receive these rights, but in cases of adoption or questionable paternity, a petition for these rights may be brought before the court.

For help with cases involving parental rights, trust our Pittsburgh family law attorney from the Rosen Family Law Group to provide knowledgeable legal guidance. Our firm has focused solely on family law for nearly 20 years in Allegheny County. When you work with us, you can trust that are our services are backed by years of hands-on experience.

What Are Parental Rights?

Parental rights are the rights of parents to decide what is best for their child in accordance with their values or beliefs—so long as their decisions do not compromise the child's safety or health. Parental rights typically come into question during a divorce, during adoption, or during disputed paternity.

A parent may exercise his or her rights in the following areas:

• Determining a child’s education
• Making decisions on healthcare
• Teaching religion

Additionally, parental duties include:

• Protecting your child from harm
• Providing your child with food, clothes, and shelter
• Supporting your child financially
• Ensuring your child has appropriate medical care

In cases of divorce, parental rights still stand after the divorce unless one of the parents does something to voluntarily or involuntarily forfeit their rights. In such cases, a parent’s actions will change how custody and visitation are determined.

For more information on parental rights, take a look at the following pages:

• Father’s Rights
• Mother’s Rights
• Grandparent’s Rights

At Rosen Family Law Group, we care about your relationship with your child, and wish to see it maintained through whatever changes may take place in your family. Our parental rights lawyer can advise you on your legal rights and can also advocate for your rights in court.

Termination of Parental Rights

A termination of parental rights can be either voluntary or involuntary. An example of voluntary termination could be a parent making the difficult decision to give up their child for adoption. Both parents must formally and legally relinquish their parental rights in this case. Involuntary termination occurs when parents are unwilling to fulfill their parental duties to the child and risk the child’s health and safety but still wish to hold on to these rights. Parental rights are not terminated based solely on environmental factors.

Common reasons for involuntary termination of parental rights include:

• Child abuse or neglect
• Mental illness due to parental alcohol or drug use
• A parent’s conviction of a crime involving children
• A lengthy jail sentence for a parent that would negatively affect the child

The grounds for involuntary termination of parental rights may vary from state to state. Birth parents’ rights have more protections; in fact, many states have stringent timing requirements before a birth parent’s rights may be involuntarily terminated. Termination of parental rights after a divorce will affect custody, visitation, and other areas.

Need Counsel? Call a Pittsburgh Family Lawyer at (412) 563-5000.

Our firm’s focus on family law enables us to effectively evaluate your case. Our experience is not the only guiding factor of our evaluations, however, as we take care to review case according to our clients’ needs and circumstances. With our legal team, you can trust that you won’t be provided with a cookie-cutter solution.

Our Pittsburgh family law and parental rights lawyer exhaustively investigates every detail of our clients’ situations and provides insightful guidance. Parental rights can be a tricky subject with divorce in the picture. Let us help you through it!