Archive

• Parents Forfeited Their Right to Court-Appointed Counsel in TPR: What Is the Law for Attorney Representation of Parents in A/N/D and TPR Actions?

  This entry was contributed by Sara DePasquale on December 6, 2023 at 5:55 pm and is filed under Child Welfare Law.

  North Carolina law requires that parents in abuse, neglect, dependency (A/N/D) and termination of parental rights (TPR) cases receive court-appointed counsel if they are indigent. G.S. 7B-602; 7B-1101.1. Parents also have a right to knowingly and voluntarily waive their statutory right to counsel. Id. The question of whether a parent may forfeit their right to counsel in a juvenile proceeding based on their behaviors had not been answered until recently. Three appellate opinions address the issue and answer that question. Parents can and have forfeited their statutory right to court-appointed counsel. To get to forfeiture, you first need to understand the rules related to a parent’s statutory right to court-appointed counsel. Continue Reading

• To Be or Not to Be: How to Know When a Parent Attorney in a TPR Is Provisional Counsel and What That Means for Withdrawing

  This entry was contributed by Timothy Heinle on April 9, 2021 at 3:15 pm and is filed under Child Welfare Law.

  Consider the common scenario in which a proceeding under Article 11 of G.S. Chapter 7B is filed to terminate a parent’s rights to their child. How and when an attorney is appointed for the respondent parent in a termination of parental rights proceeding (TPR), whether the attorney is provisional or confirmed, and how the attorney may withdraw, depends on a few factors. Ongoing confusion on these points has led to several appeals in recent years, including a new ruling by our Supreme Court. See In re K.M.W., 376 N.C. 195 (2020). This post reviews the governing principles under North Carolina case law and statutes. Continue Reading