Not the same as a parent simply losing custody, visitation, or day-to-day decision-making, this is one of the most complete legal severances a court can order between a parent and child. It ends the parent's legal rights and duties, including the right to make decisions for the child, seek parenting time, inherit through that legal relationship in some situations, and object to an adoption. It also usually ends future child support obligations, although past-due support may still be owed.

In practice, courts do not grant it lightly. It usually happens in cases involving adoption, serious neglect or abuse, abandonment, long-term unfitness, or other grounds set by state law. In Illinois, the main rules appear in the Adoption Act (750 ILCS 50) and the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 (705 ILCS 405). A judge must usually find a parent "unfit" under the Adoption Act and then decide whether ending rights is in the child's best interests.

That can matter in an injury case because a parent whose rights have been terminated may no longer have authority to file a claim, approve a settlement, or control money recovered for the child. If a child is injured and a settlement needs court approval, the legally recognized parent or guardian matters. The same issue can affect wrongful death claims, guardianship disputes, and who has standing to act for a minor after a serious accident.