Drawing up a statement of claim for deprivation of parental rights

Contents

Statement of claim for deprivation of parental rights in Ukraine
What is deprivation of parental rights in Ukraine?
Who has the right to file a claim for deprivation of parental rights in Ukraine
Grounds for deprivation of parental rights in Ukraine
Drawing up a statement of claim for deprivation of parental rights in Ukraine
Submission and consideration of a claim for deprivation of parental rights in Ukraine

Statement of claim for deprivation of parental rights in Ukraine

How to draw up and file a claim for deprivation of parental rights? This question is asked by many women whose ex-husbands do not take any part in the child’s life. They do not pay child support, do not want to see and communicate with the child, they do not provide any help to the children. And it is not uncommon for such parents to later, in old age, want to receive alimony from their children. In order to save the child from problems in the future, it is necessary to draw up and file a lawsuit to the court to deprive the parental rights of a negligent father.

What is deprivation of parental rights in Ukraine?

Deprivation of parental rights is the deprivation of the parents’ right to raise their child. Deprivation of parental rights includes a closed joint residence between a child and a deprived father, taking care of the child’s health, his education, upbringing and development.

Citizens are deprived of parental rights, they lose all rights based on the fact of kinship with children. Legally, they are no longer considered his parents, the descendants of the children are not their relatives. Such parents do not have the right to claim inheritance, receive maintenance, are deprived of benefits and benefits associated with the presence of children.

Only a court can deprive parental rights. For this, a statement of claim for deprivation of parental rights is drawn up and submitted. If a citizen has several children, then the deprivation of rights in relation to one of them does not deprive the rights of others. That is, in relation to each child, a court decision is needed.

Who has the right to file a claim for deprivation of parental rights in Ukraine

Not everyone can sue for deprivation of parental rights. The law stipulates that only certain categories of citizens or state bodies have the right to go to court.

Firstly, a statement of claim for deprivation of parental rights can be submitted by one of the child’s parents (mother or father) to the other parent. In this case, the right to submit is confirmed by the very fact of kinship with the child, confirmed by an entry in the birth certificate. At the same time, it does not matter whether the parents live together or separately, with whom of them the children live, this does not affect the right to file a claim for deprivation of parental rights.

Secondly, the child’s guardian or guardian may be the plaintiff. The main thing here is that guardianship and trusteeship should be officially established. Guardians can be both relatives of children and completely strangers. Guardians and trustees have the right to ask to deprive both of the parents of parental rights. Here I would like to note that grandparents do not have the right to file a claim for deprivation of parental rights without registration of guardianship.

Thirdly, the right to file a claim for deprivation of parental rights have special bodies that advocate for the rights of children (guardianship authorities, administration of orphanages, orphanages and specialized institutions for children). It is to these bodies that citizens need to apply if they themselves do not have the right to deprive parents of their rights to children by applying to go to court with a statement of claim.

Grounds for deprivation of parental rights in Ukraine

The grounds are indicated in Article 164 of the Family Code of Ukraine, they include:

1) did not take the child from the maternity hospital or other health care institution without a valid reason and did not show parental care in relation to him for six months;

2) shy away from fulfilling their responsibilities for raising a child and / or ensuring that she receives a complete general secondary education;

3) abuse the child;

4) are chronic alcoholics or drug addicts;

5) resort to any kind of exploitation of the child, force him to begging and vagrancy;

6) have been convicted of an intentional criminal offense against a child.

This is an exhaustive list of grounds for deprivation of parental rights. One or more of these grounds must be indicated in the text of the statement of claim. In addition, you need to describe in detail what the grounds are in relation to a particular case, give the most typical examples.

Drawing up a statement of claim for deprivation of parental rights in Ukraine

The hardest part about getting rid of parental rights is getting started. It is not always clear where to start and how to proceed. Even having overcome the psychological barrier, problems always arise in substantiating their position, doubts about the correctness of these actions. Therefore, you need to be firmly convinced that you cannot do without deprivation of parental rights.

It is better to start the disposal process by visiting the guardianship authority in your place of residence. The inspector will listen, give recommendations, describe the prospects of the case. Having experience in solving such situations, he will be able to advise how best to proceed, what actions to take and what evidence will be needed in court. The guardianship authority necessarily participates in the consideration of such cases, examines the living conditions, gives an opinion on the possibility of deprivation of parental rights, so you need to immediately establish good contact with them.

In the text of the statement of claim, you need to describe in detail the family situation, describe when the defendant lived with the child, why he stopped communicating, what help and when he did.

It is necessary to describe the child’s attitude to this process. It should be borne in mind that a child over 10 years old will necessarily be summoned to court and will express his position there on the issue of the possibility of deprivation of parental rights.

Submission and consideration of a claim for deprivation of parental rights in Ukraine

The claim is filed with the district court at the place of residence of the defendant. When filing a statement of claim for deprivation of parental rights, the court fee is paid as for a statement of claim of a non-property nature, in 2021 this amount is 908 hryvnia.

In cases of deprivation of the rights of a father (or mother), a representative of the guardianship and guardianship authority is necessarily involved. Sometimes the question arises: if the defendant lives in another city, should the guardianship authority and the prosecutor be involved in the case? Judicial practice shows that it is necessary to involve bodies located in the same area as the court. If necessary, the court can demand all the necessary evidence from the guardianship authorities, which are located at the place of residence of the plaintiff. If you need to question witnesses or seek evidence from another area, you can petition the court for a letter of rogatory.

When considering a case and making a decision, the court is obliged to decide the question to whom the child will be transferred after the deprivation of parental rights. Therefore, the plaintiff’s statement of claim should substantiate his position on this issue. The child can be transferred to another parent, guardian or guardianship authorities.

The final court decision resolves the issue of collecting alimony for the maintenance of the child. The position of the plaintiff on the amount of alimony and the order of collection will also be taken into account by the court.

We recommend that when drawing up a statement of claim for deprivation of parental rights in court, adhere to the general rules for filing a statement of claim.