How to Voluntarily Terminate Parental Rights in Kentucky?

To voluntarily terminate parental rights in Kentucky, a parent files a verified petition in Circuit Court under KRS 625.040 that names a specific person, licensed child-placing agency, or the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) ready to take custody of the child. A judge then holds a private hearing within 30 days, appoints a Guardian ad Litem for the child, and enters a final order only if the parent is acting voluntarily and termination serves the child’s best interest. The whole process has to be completed within six months.¹

When a Kentucky Court Will Consider the Petition

Kentucky does not allow a parent to walk away from a child into a legal vacuum. The petition must identify, by name and address, the person, agency, or CHFS office that will take legal responsibility, and that receiving party has to confirm it has the facilities available and is willing to accept custody.¹

If a private individual (one not exempted under KRS 199.470(4)) is the proposed custodian, that person must first get written approval from the CHFS secretary or a designee before the court can enter a final termination order.² When custody is going to CHFS itself or to a licensed child-placing agency, that separate cabinet approval isn’t required.

There is also a timing rule. No petition can be filed until at least three days after the child is born.¹ Most voluntary terminations are tied to a planned adoption, so the petition is usually filed alongside appearance-waiver and consent-to-adopt forms signed by the parent, an attorney, and a CHFS representative.

What Goes in the Petition

The petition is titled “In the interest of [child’s name], a child” and verified under oath. Under KRS 625.040(2), it has to include:¹

The petitioner’s full legal name, residential address, and relationship to the child.
The child’s full name, sex, date of birth, and current residence.
A concise statement of the factual basis for termination.
The name and address of the person, CHFS office, or licensed agency that will take custody.
A statement confirming the receiving party has facilities available and is willing to accept the child, plus any required CHFS placement approval.

The standard form is AOC DNA-20, available through the Kentucky Court of Justice.³ Circuit Court and Family Court clerk offices in the child’s county keep the form and related paperwork. When the termination is paired with an adoption, you’ll also need the appearance-waiver and consent-to-adopt forms referenced in KRS 625.041.

Where to File and What It Costs

File in the Circuit Court of the county where either the parent or the child lives. If there is already a juvenile court case involving the child, the petition can also be filed in the Circuit Court of that county.¹ The clerk records the filing date and opens a confidential case file.

Kentucky’s base filing fee for a Circuit Court civil case is $150. A $20 court technology fee is mandatory on top of that, and most counties add court facility fees and law library fees.⁴ Service of process on the other parent adds another charge if it’s needed. Expect somewhere above $170, with the county add-ons setting the final figure. If you cannot afford the fee, you can ask the court to waive it based on financial hardship.

Notice to the Other Parent and to CHFS

If the other biological parent is not joining the petition, that parent has to be formally served with a summons and a copy of the petition so they can respond or appear. When both parents agree, the non-petitioning parent can sign a waiver of notice, which removes the need for formal service and moves things along faster.

The court also requires notice to the local CHFS representative when the cabinet has not already filed a statement of willingness to accept custody, or when custody is going to a private individual whose placement has not been approved by the cabinet.² If custody is transferring to CHFS or a licensed child-placing agency, cabinet notice isn’t required.

The Hearing

Things move fast once the petition is filed. The Circuit Court has to set a hearing within three working days of receiving the petition, and the hearing itself must happen within 30 calendar days of filing.² The hearing is held privately, not in an open courtroom, and an official record is made.

The court appoints a Guardian ad Litem (GAL) to represent the child.⁵ The GAL is an attorney whose only job is the child’s interests, independent of what either parent wants. The petitioner pays the GAL’s fee, set by the court at no more than $500.⁶

At the hearing, the judge conducts a “full and complete inquiry” to make sure the parent understands what they are doing and grasps the permanence of it. The child’s best interest is the paramount consideration, and the statute specifically requires the court to weigh child support.² The judge will want testimony that the parent is acting voluntarily, without coercion. If the requirements are met and termination serves the child’s best interest, the court enters a final order ending the parent-child relationship.

What the Final Order Does

Once the judge signs the order, the legal parent-child relationship ends completely. The parent loses all rights to custody, visitation, and decision-making. The obligation to financially support the child also ends going forward, though the court weighs support implications before granting the petition.² Any past-due support owed before the order was entered typically remains enforceable.

Inheritance rights between parent and child are severed in both directions, unless a new legal parent-child relationship is later established through adoption. The order also clears the path for the child to be adopted by the designated person or placed through the receiving agency. The entire process, from filing through final judgment, must be completed within six months.¹

Extra Rules if the Child May Be an Indian Child

If there is reason to believe the child is a member of, or eligible for membership in, a federally recognized tribe, the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) layers federal requirements on top of Kentucky’s process. Consent must be in writing, given before a judge, and the judge must certify that the parent fully understood the terms and consequences, in English or through an interpreter.⁷ Any consent given within ten days of the child’s birth is invalid under federal law, overriding Kentucky’s shorter three-day rule.

ICWA also lets a parent withdraw consent for any reason at any time before a final decree of termination or adoption is entered. After a final adoption decree, the parent can only challenge the adoption by proving consent was obtained through fraud or duress, and even that challenge is barred once the adoption has been in effect for at least two years.⁷

Can a Voluntary Termination Be Undone?

Voluntary termination is designed to be permanent, and courts treat it that way. A parent who changes their mind after the final order faces a steep climb. Kentucky Civil Rule 60.02 is the only realistic path, and its grounds are narrow: mistake or excusable neglect, fraud affecting the proceedings, perjury or falsified evidence, or extraordinary circumstances. Motions based on mistake or perjury must be filed within one year; the others must come within a “reasonable time.”⁸

Courts rarely grant these motions in voluntary termination cases, and the hearing itself is the reason. The judge personally confirms the parent understands the consequences, the GAL independently evaluates the child’s interests, and the proceeding is recorded. All of that record works against any later claim that the parent didn’t know what they were agreeing to. Treat the hearing as the true point of no return.

1
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 625.040 – Petition
2
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 625.042 – Conduct of Hearings
3
Cabinet for Health and Family Services. C6.30 Voluntary Termination of Parental Rights
4
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Kentucky Court Rules – Circuit Civil Fees and Costs
5
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Kentucky Court Rules – Appendix A-4 Voluntary Termination of Parental Rights Checklist
6
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 625.041 – Party to Action, Guardian Ad Litem to Be Appointed
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 25 USC 1913 – Parental Rights, Voluntary Termination
8
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Kentucky Court Rules – CR 60.02 Mistake