Relinquishment and appeal
Yesterday on Stack Exchange a woman asked about her proceedings in Kansas family court: " My attorney told m[e] that if I relinquish my rights to[ m]y children I would have 5 years to appeal my case. Is that true? " Her post got closed under the pretext that it asks for specific legal advice. Although she provided no context, the question warrants two remarks. The first remark is that appealing one's own relinquishment makes no sense. The Black's Law Dictionary defines relinquishment as "abandoning, renouncing, or giving over a right". The purpose of filing an appeal is to have an adverse ruling reversed. The term adverse implies appellant's disagreement with, and opposition to, the ruling. By renouncing or abandoning a right, that party conveys that she is not opposed to the ruling. Accordingly, relinquishing a right forfeits the grounds for appeal. The other remark is in regard to the deadline for filing a notice of appeal. KSA 60-2013 provides that ...