PARENT RIGHTS
If you have any questions regarding Parent Rights and the Law, please contact us for a Free Parent Rights Consultation.
We know of no exhaustive listing of the set of parental rights typically
associate with having full custody of children. The following parental rights are commonly assumed to be
included in the set:
· the right to physical possession of the child;
· the right to inculcate in the child one’s moral and ethical standards;
· the right to discipline the child;
· the right to control and manage a minor child’s earnings and property;
· the right to have the child bear the parent’s name;
· the right to prevent adoption of the child without the parents’ consent;
· the right to make decisions concerning the child's medical treatment;
· the right to make decisions concerning the child's education;
· the right to make decisions concerning the child's religious training;
· the right to make decisions concerning other activities of the minor child;
· the right to information necessary to exercise the above rights responsibly.
Parental rights are neither absolute nor unlimited. They are non-absolute
in the sense that they may, in certain cases, be overridden by other
considerations. For example, a parent’s right to determine the education of his or
her children may be overridden by the need to provide children with accurate
information with which to make responsible choices of their own. Parental rights
are limited in the sense that a full and accurate statement of them would contain
limiting clauses. Thus, the parent has no right, not merely an overridden right, to
discipline a child by physical torture.
Perhaps more importantly, parental rights are fiduciary rights. Parents
have the legal right to make certain decisions concerning their minor children in
the best interests of the children. This feature of parental rights explains some of
the limitations of the rights, and may also shed light on why and under what
conditions these rights might be overridden. Furthermore, the fact that the parent
is a trustee means that, even when the parent is acting within the scope of his or
her rights and in a situation in which these rights are not overridden, the parents’
choices are to be guided by considerations of the best interests of the children.
If you feel that your parental rights have been violated, please contact us for a Free Parent Rights Consultation.
