won case for parental termination now appealed

[fedupgram]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? pa. i am the grandmother of a @ yr old grandson. i have cared for this child from the day he was brought home from the hospital. Both parents are drug abusers. Went to court to file for adoption. won the termination of parental rights. Now the father wants to appeal the decision. He is getting free leagal advise and i am now out of money to continue to pay legal fees. Does these appeals usually go in favor of the original decision or overturned and how long would this process take. What rights do i have now and where do i go from here

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? pa. i am the grandmother of a @ yr old grandson. i have cared for this child from the day he was brought home from the hospital. Both parents are drug abusers. Went to court to file for adoption. won the termination of parental rights. Now the father wants to appeal the decision. He is getting free leagal advise and i am now out of money to continue to pay legal fees. Does these appeals usually go in favor of the original decision or overturned and how long would this process take. What rights do i have now and where do i go from here

Free legal advice from where? Legal Aid doesn't normally handle appeals. Has he actually appealed yet?

 

[Ohiogal]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? pa. i am the grandmother of a @ yr old grandson. i have cared for this child from the day he was brought home from the hospital. Both parents are drug abusers. Went to court to file for adoption. won the termination of parental rights. Now the father wants to appeal the decision. He is getting free leagal advise and i am now out of money to continue to pay legal fees. Does these appeals usually go in favor of the original decision or overturned and how long would this process take. What rights do i have now and where do i go from here

The odds are in favor of upholding the original decision. It is possible that he was granted appointed counsel due to the fact that the termination of parental rights is equivalent to the death penalty in family law. And the process can take several months.

 

[Tex78704]

... i am the grandmother of a @ yr old grandson...

I am guessing the @ yr old means 2 yr old??

Not sure what the fathers situation is and why he is appealing, but there may be mitigating factors such that an attorney is appealing on his behalf.

The PA Supreme Court recognizes that a parent who cannot afford representation in a termination of parental rights case has a constitutional right to counsel.

While the odds of winning an appeal in family law cases are slim, parental termination cases have an edge in that the burden of proof to terminate parental rights is "clear and convincing evidence", rather than a mere "preponderance of evidence", as in other types of custody cases.

But at this point, you really have no sure way of knowing what kind of case the father has on appeal until he actually files his Appellant's Brief and serves you with a copy. It is possible you will get hit with a flurry of post-judgment motions in the near future requesting findings and Motion for New Trial and such, if his attorney intends to aggressively pursue this appeal.

But assuming he actually files an Appellant Brief, at that time you should promptly take the Brief to your attorney to review and let you know where you stand and how you should respond.