Voluntary Termination of Parental Rights

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  A member of a native American tribe can ask for a tribal court to try his case.Liquidlibrary/liquidlibrary/Getty Images
  
  Ask the child his status as a Native American. A child may be a member of a Native American tribe, eligible for membership in a tribe, residing on reservation land or a ward of the tribal court, and in any of these cases he can order his case moved to the tribal court; You will then have to file your petition for termination of parental rights with the relevant tribal court to begin the process of termination.
  
  
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  To meet the requirements of your case, you will need the advice of a lawyer and a Children's Services Worker.Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images
  
  Ask a Children's Services Worker to explain the process for terminating parental rights to you. Then schedule a consultation with a lawyer to do the same. The Children's Services Worker can offer you a lot of information on the process for terminating your parental rights, but he cannot offer you legal advice. You will, however, want to have that advice before the start of the process to terminate your parental rights, and so you'll want to talk with a lawyer.
  
  
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  To start any court case, file a petition with the clerk of courts.Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images
  
  File a Petition for Termination of Parental rights with the Clerk of Courts for the court trying your case. The Clerk of Courts will submit your forms to the court system in order to schedule you.
  
  
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  Ultimately a judge will decide whether to terminate your parental rights.Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  State your informed and voluntary consent to terminate your parental rights to a judge. The judge will ask you questions to confirm the informed and voluntary nature of your decision, and he may not grant you a termination. However, a judge must hear your case in order for the termination to be valid.
  
  

Involuntary Termination of Parental Rights

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  You may have to check with a number of courts to find the one with jurisdiction over the child in question.FPG/Retrofile/Getty Images
  
  Search the records of the child's possible states of residence for any custody or visitation order on the child. A court issuing such an order will have first jurisdiction over that child, and you will have to file for termination of parental rights through that court. Otherwise, file at the state court for the child's residence of the last six months, or, in the case of a child with no continuous residence for that time, file at the state court most convenient for you.
  
  
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  You will need to gather evidence to justify termination of parental rights.Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  Ask Children's Services to search for evidence of: 1) The abandonment of the child, 2) The severe or chronic abuse or neglect of the child, 3) the abuse or neglect of other children in the same home, 4) the parent's long term mental illness or deficiency, 5) the parent's incapacity due to alcohol or drugs, 6) the parent's failure to support or contact their child or 7) the termination of the parent's rights for another child. Each of these things is valid grounds for the termination of parental rights.
  
  
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  Ultimately, a judge will decide the matterStockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images
  
  Provide the judge with clear and convincing evidence of that termination being in the best interest of the child. After that, you will simply have to await the judge's decision.