Opinion
No. FA95 032 33 59 S
June 8, 1999
MEMORANDUM OF DECISION RE: MOTION FOR TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS
The defendant filed a motion for visitation rights with his minor child. On the day of the hearing, the parties presented a written stipulation for approval by the court wherein they agreed that the defendant's parental rights should be terminated. The issue presented is whether the Superior Court has jurisdiction to terminate parental rights in a post-judgment divorce case. It does not and the stipulation is not approved.
"Termination of parental rights means the complete severance by court order of the legal relationship, with all its rights and responsibilities, between the child and his parent or parents so that the child is free for adoption. . . ." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) General Statutes § 17a-93 (e). "The termination of parental rights is governed strictly by statute."In re Bruce R., 234 Conn. 194, 201, 662 A.2d 107 (1995). "[T]he jurisdiction for terminating parental rights lies either in the Probate Court or in the Superior Court pursuant to General Statutes §§ 17a-112 and 45a-715 (a) and (g)." (Footnotes added.) Kevin S. v. Dent. of Children and Families, 49 Conn. App. 706, 708, 714 A.2d 1289 (1998).
General Statutes § 17a-112 (a) provides: "In respect to any child in the custody of the Commissioner of Children and Families . . . either the commissioner, or the attorney who represented such child in a pending or prior proceeding, or an attorney appointed by the Superior Court on its own motion . . . may petition the court for the termination of parental rights with reference to such child."
General Statutes § 45a-715 (a) provides: "Any of the following persons may petition the Court of Probate to terminate parental rights of all persons who may have parental rights regarding any minor child or for the termination of the parental rights of only one parent provided the application so states. . . ."
General Statutes § 45a-715 (g) provides: "Before a hearing on the merits in any case in which a petition for termination of parental rights is contested in a court of probate, the Court of Probate shall, on the motion of any legal party except the petitioner or may on its own motion or that of the petitioner, under rules adopted by the judges of the Supreme Court, transfer the case to the Superior Court."
General Statutes § 46b-1 lists matters within the jurisdiction of the Superior Court deemed to be family relations matters. `Termination of parental rights' is not one of the matters specifically listed as within the jurisdiction of the Superior Court. Furthermore, although General Statutes § 46b-1 (17) provides a category for "all such other matters within the jurisdiction of the Superior Court concerning children or family relations as may be determined by the judges of said court," research does not reveal any reported cases considering the `termination of parental rights' as a matter within the jurisdiction of the Superior Court. The case relied on by the plaintiff, Luther v. Wargo, Superior Court, judicial district of Litchfield, Docket No. 069212 (October 4, 1995, Dranginis, J.), deals with custody matters, rather than the termination of parental rights.
Based on the foregoing, the Superior Court only has jurisdiction to terminate parental rights pursuant to General Statutes § 17a-112 "[i]n respect to any child in the custody of the Commissioner of Children and Families" or if the Probate Court pursuant to General Statutes § 45a-715 (g) transfers a petition for termination of parental rights contested in a court of probate to the Superior Court.
Here, the child is not "in the custody of the Commissioner of Children and Families." Furthermore, no one has petitioned the Probate Court for a termination of parental rights such that a transfer to the Superior Court under General Statutes § 45a-715 (g) can be considered. Therefore the Superior Court lacks jurisdiction to terminate the father's parental rights.
CUTSUMPAS, J.