How do I find out if I have signed away my parental rights or just my visitation?
Full Question:
How do I find out if I have signed away my parental rights or just my visitation?
11/13/2007 |
Category: Divorce ยป Child Custody |
State: Texas |
#12158
Answer:
The following are Texas statutes:
§ 161.005 FAM. Termination When Parent is Petitioner
(a) A parent may file a suit for termination of the petitioner's
parent-child relationship. The court may order termination if termination
is in the best interest of the child.
(b) If the petition designates the Department of Protective and
Regulatory Services as managing conservator, the department shall be
given service of citation. The court shall notify the department if the
court appoints the department as the managing conservator of the child.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, § 1, eff. April 20, 1995.
Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 751, § 68, eff. Sept. 1,
1995.
§ 161.103 FAM. Affidavit of Voluntary Relinquishment of Parental Rights
(a) An affidavit for voluntary relinquishment of parental rights must be:
(1) signed after the birth of the child, but not before 48 hours after
the birth of the child, by the parent, whether or not a minor, whose
parental rights are to be relinquished;
(2) witnessed by two credible persons; and
(3) verified before a person authorized to take oaths.
(b) The affidavit must contain:
(1) the name, county of residence, and age of the parent whose
parental rights are being relinquished;
(2) the name, age, and birth date of the child;
(3) the names and addresses of the guardians of the person and estate
of the child, if any;
(4) a statement that the affiant is or is not presently obligated by
court order to make payments for the support of the child;
(5) a full description and statement of value of all property owned or
possessed by the child;
(6) an allegation that termination of the parent-child relationship
is in the best interest of the child;
(7) one of the following, as applicable:
(A) the name and county of residence of the other parent;
(B) a statement that the parental rights of the other parent have been
terminated by death or court order; or
(C) a statement that the child has no presumed father and that an
affidavit of status of the child has been executed as provided by this
chapter;
(8) a statement that the parent has been informed of parental rights
and duties;
(9) a statement that the relinquishment is revocable, that the
relinquishment is irrevocable, or that the relinquishment is irrevocable
for a stated period of time;
(10) if the relinquishment is revocable, a statement in boldfaced type
concerning the right of the parent signing the affidavit to revoke the
relinquishment only if the revocation is made before the 11th day after the
date the affidavit is executed;
(11) if the relinquishment is revocable, the name and address of a
person to whom the revocation is to be delivered; and
(12) the designation of a prospective adoptive parent, the Department
of Family and Protective Services, if the department has
consented in writing to the designation, or a licensed child-placing
agency to serve as managing conservator of the child and the address of
the person or agency.
(c) The affidavit may contain:
(1) a waiver of process in a suit to terminate the parent-child
relationship filed under this chapter or in a suit to terminate joined
with a petition for adoption; and
(2) a consent to the placement of the child for adoption by the
Department of Protective and Regulatory Services or by a licensed
child-placing agency.
(d) A copy of the affidavit shall be provided to the parent at the time
the parent signs the affidavit.
(e) The relinquishment in an affidavit that designates the Department
of Protective and Regulatory Services or a licensed child-placing agency
to serve as the managing conservator is irrevocable. A relinquishment in
any other affidavit of relinquishment is revocable unless it expressly
provides that it is irrevocable for a stated period of time not to exceed
60 days after the date of its execution.
(f) A relinquishment in an affidavit of relinquishment of parental
rights that fails to state that the relinquishment is irrevocable for a
stated time is revocable as provided by Section 161.1035
(g) To revoke a relinquishment under Subsection (e) the parent must
sign a statement witnessed by two credible persons and verified before a
person authorized to take oaths. A copy of the revocation shall be
delivered to the person designated in the affidavit. If a parent
attempting to revoke a relinquishment under this subsection has knowledge
that a suit for termination of the parent-child relationship has been
filed based on the parent's affidavit of relinquishment of parental
rights, the parent shall file a copy of the revocation with the clerk of
the court.
(h) The affidavit may not contain terms for limited post-termination
contact between the child and the parent whose parental rights are to be
relinquished as a condition of the relinquishment of parental rights.