An action of Termination of Parental Rights is extremely complicated and viewed by the courts as an action of last resort. Great care should be taken to thoroughly discuss the difficulties associated with obtaining such a decree from a court before embarking on such a course of action. Otherwise, a party can spend a good deal of money only to have the court deny the requested relief.
Most people fail to appreciate that a court is not going through with termination of parental rights unless the other party can demonstrate that it is clearly in the best interests of the minor children, and that they will not suffer financially in any way by the action of the court. There are far less stringent ways a court can protect children from a less than a sterling parent, while not depriving them of the financial support to which they are entitled, including social security benefits, should that parent pass away.