In re B.C.B., 374 N.C. 32 (2020)
Held:
Affirmed
- Facts: Mother petitioned to terminate father’s parental rights on the grounds of abandonment and failure to pay child support. Father’s attorney filed a motion to dismiss alleging insufficient notice of facts. The motion was denied. After hearing, the TPR was granted on the ground of abandonment. Respondent father appeals.
- Notice: G.S. 7B-1104 requires a TPR petition “state ‘[f]acts that are sufficient to warrant a determination that one or more of the grounds for terminating parental rights exists.’ ”Sl.Op. at 4. Quoting the court of appeals, “[w]hile there is no requirement that the factual allegations be exhaustive or extensive, they must put a party on notice as to what acts, omissions, or conditions are at issue.” Id. Here, the petition included more than a mere recitation of the statutory grounds to TPR; it alleged both grounds, that both actions were willful, and addressed at length respondent father’s violation of the child custody orders in support of the allegation of willful abandonment.
Category:
Termination of Parental RightsStage:
PleadingTopic:
Sufficiency