Termination and adoption Bar Exam Flashcards - Medical Study Cards
Master Termination and adoption with Oncourse flashcards. These spaced repetition flashcards are designed for medical students preparing for NEET PG, USMLE Step 1, USMLE Step 2, MBBS exams, and other medical licensing examinations.
Termination and adoption Flashcard Deck - 10 Cards
Flashcard 1: When is a parent’s consent generally required for an adoption?
Answer: Consent is generally required from each living parent whose parental rights have not been terminated, unless the parent is legally incompetent, has abandoned the child, or another statutory exception applies. A minor parent’s consent is generally required as well.
Flashcard 2: What are common statutory grounds for involuntary termination of parental rights?
Answer: Common grounds include abuse or neglect, abandonment, failure to remedy conditions causing foster placement, parental unfitness, substantial incarceration, and serious mental illness or substance abuse that prevents adequate parenting. The exact grounds are statutory and vary by jurisdiction.
Flashcard 3: When may an adoption consent generally be revoked?
Answer: Under the majority approach, consent may be revoked within the period specified by statute or before the adoption decree if the statute permits, and it may be challenged for fraud, duress, or coercion. After the decree, revocation is ordinarily unavailable except for extraordinary statutory grounds.
Flashcard 4: What is the role of the child’s best interests in termination and adoption proceedings?
Answer: In termination proceedings, the court must determine that termination serves the child’s best interests after finding a statutory ground. In adoption proceedings, the court likewise approves the adoption only if it is in the child’s best interests, considering factors such as stability, attachment, and the proposed parent’s fitness.
Flashcard 5: What does abandonment generally require for purposes of terminating parental rights?
Answer: Abandonment generally requires conduct showing that the parent intended to relinquish parental responsibilities or failed substantially to communicate with or support the child for the statutory period. Token contact or support may be insufficient, depending on the statute.
Flashcard 6: What must generally be proven to terminate a parent’s parental rights involuntarily?
Answer: The petitioner must prove a statutory ground for termination by clear and convincing evidence and establish that termination is in the child’s best interests. The parent is entitled to notice and an opportunity to be heard.
Flashcard 7: What is the usual legal effect of a final adoption decree?
Answer: A final adoption decree creates the same legal relationship between the adoptive parent and child as a biological parent-child relationship, including support and inheritance rights. It ordinarily terminates the legal rights and duties between the child and the biological parents, unless a statutory exception or open-adoption agreement applies.
Flashcard 8: What makes consent to adoption valid?
Answer: Consent must generally be knowing, voluntary, and given after the statutory disclosures and waiting period, if applicable. A court may set aside consent for fraud, duress, coercion, or material misrepresentation, subject to statutory revocation deadlines.
Flashcard 9: How does a legal guardianship differ from an adoption?
Answer: A guardianship gives the guardian authority to care for and make decisions for the child but generally does not permanently sever the parents’ legal relationship or inheritance rights. Adoption creates a permanent parent-child relationship and ordinarily terminates the birth parents’ rights and duties.
Flashcard 10: What standard of proof applies in an involuntary termination proceeding?
Answer: The majority rule, reflected in the constitutional standard, requires clear and convincing evidence before parental rights may be involuntarily terminated. The court must also make the required best-interests determination.
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