But, unfortunately, there are violations in the implementation by the parents of their responsibilities for the care and upbringing of the child. And then the other parent has a question in deprivation of parental rights of the other party.
The question of deprivation of parental rights is decided by the court.
According to part 1 of article 164 of the Family Code of Ukraine, the grounds for deprivation of parental rights of one of the parents can be:
1) the mother or father did not take the child from the hospital without a valid reason and did not show parental care for him for six months;
2) if he / she shirks from fulfilling his / her responsibilities for raising a child (parents refusing to fulfill their responsibilities — this is when they do not care about the physical and spiritual development of the child, his / her education, preparation for an independent life)
3) abuse of a child is any form of physical, psychological, sexual or economic abuse of a child;
4) are chronic alcoholics or drug addicts, this must be confirmed by a medical certificate;
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, for this purpose it is necessary to obtain a court verdict.
The list of responsibilities in relation to a child is enshrined in Article 150 of the Family Code (Criminal Code) of Ukraine. This is also indicated by the Supreme Court of Ukraine, where in paragraph 16 of the Resolution of the Plenum «On the Practice of the Application of Legislation by Courts in Considering Cases on Adoption and on Deprivation and Restoration of Parental Rights», the Supreme Court noted that parental evasion occurs when they do not provide: the necessary food; medical care; treatment of a child, negatively affects his physical development as a component of upbringing; do not communicate with the child to the extent necessary for her normal self-awareness; do not give the child access to cultural and other spiritual values; do not contribute to her assimilation of generally recognized moral norms; show no interest in his inner world; do not create conditions for their education.
These factors, both individually and in aggregate, can be regarded as evasion from raising a child only under the condition of the guilty behavior of the parents, their deliberate neglect of their duties.
Moreover, the Supreme Court, in its Decision dated 06.05.2020 in case No. 753/2025/19 (No. in the USRSR 89209715), determined that deprivation of parental rights is an exceptional measure that entails serious legal consequences for both the father (mother) and and for the child. The court may, in exceptional cases, upon proving the guilty behavior of one of the parents or both of them, taking into account his character, the personality of the father and mother, as well as other specific circumstances of the case, refuse to satisfy the claim for the deprivation of these rights.
Thus, deprivation of parental rights is allowed only when it is impossible to change the behavior of parents for the better, and only if there is guilt in the actions of the parents. The fact of denial by the applicant against the claim for deprivation of his parental rights, the presentation by the defendant of an appeal testifies to his interest in the child. So, it should also be borne in mind that a mother or father may be deprived of parental rights in relation to all of their children or some of them.
It is also a delusion that if non-payment of alimony is a sufficient reason for deprivation of parental rights, in fact it is not. The court can only additionally take into account non-payment of alimony together with other evidence.
In order to go to court with such a complex claim, you should carefully prepare and collect as much evidence and substantiation of the claim for a positive decision of the case.
Documents for the claim:
- receipt of payment of the court fee;
- copy of the plaintiff’s passport and identification code;
- a copy of the child’s birth certificate;
- a copy of the certificate confirming the conclusion of marriage (its dissolution)
an act of inspection of living and housing conditions at the child’s residence address;
the conclusion of the guardianship and trusteeship body on the advisability of depriving parental rights (in Ukraine, services provide it in different ways: they can before going to court, but there are those who provide it exclusively in court, when they are involved as a third party);
characteristics from the place of study of the child (kindergarten) indicating the participation of parents in upbringing;
characteristics of the mother (father) from the place of work or residence;
a court decision on the recovery of alimony (if the following obligations were previously imposed on the defendant);
information from the executive service on the presence of a debt for alimony payments;
court verdict (if the defendant was convicted of evading the payment of alimony, beating a child, improper performance of parental duties, etc.);
information from the police about the facts of cruel treatment of a minor or other family member; - the conclusion of a psychologist after a conversation with a child (a psychologist of the institution where the child is studying or a psychologist of the guardianship and guardianship authority)
- a certificate from a narcological medical institution about the presence of the defendant’s diseases of alcoholism, drug addiction;
- explanations, testimonies;
- audio, photo, video files and the like.
At the same time, the list of documents for depriving a father or mother of parental rights depends on the individual characteristics of the case, which a lawyer will help to sort out with personal legal advice.
What rights do parents lose in relation to their child?
In fact, the mother or father loses rights in relation to the child, which, as a general rule, belong to them as parents, namely:
- lose personal non-property rights to the child (for example, the right to resolve issues of raising a child and even communicate with him, the right to give permission for a child to change his surname or first name, the right to determine the child’s place of residence and permit or prohibit her to travel abroad, etc.), and are also released from the duties of his upbringing;
- cease to be the legal representative of the child (they cannot, as before, represent his interests in courts or other bodies, etc. without a separate power of attorney);
- lose the right to any benefits and state benefits provided to families with children;
- cannot be an adoptive parent, guardian or curator (i.e. they cannot adopt another child)
cannot receive in the future those property rights related to paternity that they could have had in the event of their incapacity for work: the right to alimony from such a child; - the right to inherit after this child (except when their
- inheritance is provided for by the child’s will);
- the right to manage the property of the child;
payments of alimony, pensions, cash assistance for a child to such a father or mother are also terminated. - lose other rights based on kinship with the child (for example, their child may be adopted without their consent as parents).
Are parents released from the obligation to support the child?
Simultaneously with the deprivation of parental rights, the court may decide the issue of collecting alimony for a child from such a father (mother). In addition, parents are obliged to participate in additional expenses for children (Article 185 of the SK) and compensate for the harm caused by the child (Article 1183 of the Civil Code of Ukraine).
Does the child lose his rights in relation to his parents?
The deprivation of parental rights by a father or mother does not affect the scope of the rights of the children themselves. That is, the child retains all property rights based on consanguinity, in particular, the right to alimony, property rights to immovable property or the right to use residential premises.
In addition, according to Art. 1261 GK, children remain the heirs of the first order.
How can it be possible to update the father’s rights on the basis of the relationship to the child?
So, you can go to court with a claim for the restoration of parental rights. At the same time, in the statement of claim, it is necessary to indicate and submit evidence testifying to the correction of the person and the desire to take an active part in the upbringing and life of the child in the future. In this case, the court will also establish or respond to the restoration of parental rights in the interests of the child. Also, the court must take into account the opinion of the other parent and other persons with whom the child lives.
Mandatory for the consideration of this category of case is the conclusion of the guardianship and guardianship authority on the possibility of renewal of parental rights. The renewal of parental rights is impossible if the child has reached the age of majority at the time the case is being considered by the court.
Nevertheless, the procedure for deprivation of parental rights is an extreme measure of influence on a person who does not fulfill his parental responsibilities. The court decides such a question only after a full, comprehensive, objective clarification of the circumstances of the case, with the obligatory participation of the guardianship and trusteeship body.
He does not have the same cases, just as there are no identical situations, and in order to find the right way to resolve the issue, you should seek professional help or advice from a lawyer.
