In re E.Q.B., ___ N.C. App. ___ (August 1, 2023)
Held:
Affirmed in Part
Vacated in Part
- Facts: Father challenges adjudication order terminating his parental rights of three children and dispositional order prohibiting contact with the children. Mother and father were married with two children. The couple divorced during a period of father’s incarceration and had a brief reconciliation following father’s release, during which time mother became pregnant with their third child. The couple again separated during father’s subsequent incarceration, during which their third child was born. After father’s release, father briefly lived with mother and the children, during which time mother paid all expenses. The couple again separated in January 2020. Father began calling mother and threatening her and the children. Mother blocked father from contacting her by phone and changed her phone number. In March, April, and July 2020, father sent money and toys through a relative to send to the mother for the children, but since the couple’s final separation, father did not attempt to communicate or otherwise offer support to the children. Father was again incarcerated from September through December 2020. In December, upon release, father moved to Arizona. In February 2021, mother obtained a temporary domestic violence protective order (DVPO) against father, which became a final order in April 2021. In March 2021, mother filed the petition to terminate father’s parental rights. After hearing, the court issued the TPR order based on abandonment, neglect by abandonment, and neglect by failure to provide proper care. The court also ordered father to have no further communication or contact with the children. Father appeals.
- An adjudicatory order is reviewed to determine “whether the findings are supported by clear, cogent, and convincing evidence and the findings support the conclusions of law, with the trial court’s conclusions of law being subject to de novo review.” Sl. Op. at 6 (citations omitted).
- G.S. 7B-1111(a)(7) authorizes termination of a “party’s parental rights when it finds that the parent ‘has willfully abandoned the juvenile for at least six consecutive months immediately preceding the filing of the petition or motion.’ ” Sl. Op. at 6. “To find abandonment, the trial court must find that the parent’s conduct ‘manifests a willful determination to forego all parental duties and relinquish all parental claims to the child[,]’ but the relevant inquiry is limited to the statutory period of six months.” Sl. Op. at 7 (citations omitted).
- Challenged findings regarding the parties’ relationship and father’s failure to provide care, financial support, a safe and loving home, and emotional support to the children are supported by clear, cogent, and convincing evidence. Mother testified as to the time periods of their relationship, her provisions of total financial support for the children, her provision of a home for the children since birth, the children’s injuries when left alone with father in the past, and the older children’s desire to stay away from their father.
- The findings support the court’s conclusion of abandonment. “The obstruction of a parent’s ability to contact the children is relevant to the court’s consideration; however, the trial court must consider the parent’s other actions and inactions in determining the impact of the obstruction on the parent’s lack of contact.” Sl. Op. at 1. Although mother obtained a temporary DVPO that was in effect for one and a half months of the determinative six-month period, it did not prohibit contact with the children. Mother blocked father after repeated threatening phone calls. During the determinative statutory period from September to March, father was incarcerated from September to December, moved to another state following release without attempting to see the children, and, while calling mother repeatedly, did not contact his children. Father did not offer any excuse for not seeking custody or signing a voluntary support agreement when the court found he had the means, opportunity, and ability to do so. Father did not provide financial or emotional support for the children.
- The DVPO did not preclude contact with his children.
Category:
Termination of Parental RightsStage:
AdjudicationTopic:
Abandonment