TPR

or "Terminating Parental Rights"

In the meantime, add a few more thousand to the cost of this fiasco. The lawyer has suggested we get a court-ordered psychological exam of the FSO in order to block him from even entertaining the idea of having time with the kids. I have since asked her to find out if we can get his parental rights terminated on the basis of mental illness and inability to effectively parent due to his illness. I told her I want to hit him with the court equivalent of nuclear blasts - lets hit him hard with everything we can and protect my kids.

I have researched it. Most of the information is for removing kids from the family unit and hardly any of it dealt with an unfit parent. What was out there makes me believe we can go initially for a temporary finding that he is unfit and therefore needs his parental rights temporarily terminated. They require two findings to terminate parental rights:

"16) Inability to discharge parental responsibilities supported by competent evidence from a psychiatrist, licensed clinical social worker, or clinical psychologist of mental impairment, mental illness or mental retardation as defined in Section 1-116 of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code [405 ILCS 5/1-116], or developmental disability as defined in Section 1-106 of that Code, and there is sufficient justification to believe that the inability to discharge parental responsibilities shall extend beyond a reasonable time period."*

*From DCFS web resource

Then, since he is obviously not going to get treatment, wait the required time to prove it extends beyond a reasonable time period and go for permanent TPR.

It would ease my mind considerably if I can get this done successfully. Its probably difficult tho because the courts do not like to do this. But I think since I am there as the custodial parent and its not unusual to determine fitness to parent when working on custody issues that its a possibility.