Did my husband relinquish his parental rights when he left me and our kids without returning?
Full Question:
Answer:
Abandonment alone doesn't relinquish a parent's rights unless they are determined by the court to be relinquished. Abandonment may be a ground for a divorce in Texas. In a divorce proceeding, the rights and obligations of the parents for custody, support, and decision-making are established in the divorce decree. Abandonment may be a factor in granting sole custody to the other parent. The duty of support is generally not enforceable unless established in a court order. Abandonment may also be a factor in granting a petition to terminate parental rights or granting the other spouse the sole right to manage community property.
The following are TX statutes:
§ 3.301 FAM. Missing, Abandoned, or Separated Spouse
(a) A spouse may file a sworn petition stating the facts that make it
desirable for the petitioning spouse to manage, control, and dispose of
community property described or defined in the petition that would
otherwise be subject to the sole or joint management, control, and
disposition of the other spouse if:
(1) the other spouse has disappeared and that spouse's location remains
unknown to the petitioning spouse, unless the spouse is reported to be a
prisoner of war or missing on public service;
(2) the other spouse has permanently abandoned the petitioning spouse;
or
(3) the spouses are permanently separated.
(b) The petition may be filed in a court in the county in which the
petitioner resided at the time the separation began, or the abandonment or
disappearance occurred, not earlier than the 60th day after the date of
the occurrence of the event. If both spouses are nonresidents of this
state at the time the petition is filed, the petition may be filed in a
court in a county in which any part of the described or defined community
property is located.
§ 161.001 FAM. Involuntary Termination of Parent-child Relationship
The court may order termination of the parent-child relationship if the
court finds by clear and convincing evidence:
(1) that the parent has:
(A) voluntarily left the child alone or in the possession of another
not the parent and expressed an intent not to return;
(B) voluntarily left the child alone or in the possession of another
not the parent without expressing an intent to return, without providing
for the adequate support of the child, and remained away for a period of
at least three months;
(C) voluntarily left the child alone or in the possession of another
without providing adequate support of the child and remained away for a
period of at least six months;
(D) knowingly placed or knowingly allowed the child to remain in
conditions or surroundings which endanger the physical or emotional
well-being of the child;
(E) engaged in conduct or knowingly placed the child with persons who
engaged in conduct which endangers the physical or emotional well-being
of the child;
(F) failed to support the child in accordance with the parent's ability
during a period of one year ending within six months of the date of the
filing of the petition;
(G) abandoned the child without identifying the child or furnishing
means of identification, and the child's identity cannot be ascertained
by the exercise of reasonable diligence;
(H) voluntarily, and with knowledge of the pregnancy, abandoned the
mother of the child beginning at a time during her pregnancy with the
child and continuing through the birth, failed to provide adequate
support or medical care for the mother during the period of abandonment
before the birth of the child, and remained apart from the child or
failed to support the child since the birth;
(I) contumaciously refused to submit to a reasonable and lawful order
of a court under Subchapter D, Chapter 261;
(J) been the major cause of:
(i) the failure of the child to be enrolled in school as required by
the Education Code; or
(ii) the child's absence from the child's home without the consent of
the parents or guardian for a substantial length of time or without the
intent to return;
(K) executed before or after the suit is filed an unrevoked or
irrevocable affidavit of relinquishment of parental rights as provided by
this chapter;
(L) been convicted or has been placed on community supervision,
including deferred adjudication community supervision, for being
criminally responsible for the death or serious injury of a child under
the following sections of the Penal Code or adjudicated under Title 3 for
conduct that caused the death or serious injury of a child and that would
constitute a violation of one of the following Penal Code sections:
(i) Section 19.02 (murder);
(ii) Section 19.03 (capital murder);
(iii) Section 19.04 (manslaughter);,
(iv) Section 21.11 (indecency with a child);
(v) Section 22.01 (assault);
(vi) Section 22.011 (sexual assault);
(vii) Section 22.02 (aggravated assault);
(viii) Section 22.021 (aggravated sexual assault);
(ix) Section 22.04 (injury to a child, elderly individual, or disabled
individual);
(x) Section 22.041 (abandoning or endangering child);
(xi) Section 25.02 (prohibited sexual conduct);
(xii) Section 43.25 (sexual performance by a child);
(xiii) Section 43.26 (possession or promotion of child pornography);
and
(xiv) Section 21.02 (continuous sexual abuse of young child or
children);
(M) had his or her parent-child relationship terminated with respect to
another child based on a finding that the parent's conduct was in
violation of Paragraph (D) or (E) or substantially equivalent provisions
of the law of another state;
(N) constructively abandoned the child who has been in the permanent or
temporary managing conservatorship of the Department of Family and
Protective Services or an authorized agency for not less than six months,
and:
(i) the department or authorized agency has made reasonable efforts to
return the child to the parent;
(ii) the parent has not regularly visited or maintained significant
contact with the child; and
(iii) the parent has demonstrated an inability to provide the child
with a safe environment;
(O) failed to comply with the provisions of a court order that
specifically established the actions necessary for the parent to obtain
the return of the child who has been in the permanent or temporary
managing conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective
Services for not less than nine months as a result of the child's removal
from the parent under Chapter 262 for the abuse or neglect of the child;
(P) used a controlled substance, as defined by Chapter 481, Health and
Safety Code, in a manner that endangered the health or safety of the
child, and:
(i) failed to complete a court-ordered substance abuse treatment
program; or
(ii) after completion of a court-ordered substance abuse treatment
program, continued to abuse a controlled substance;
(Q) knowingly engaged in criminal conduct that has resulted in the
parent's:
(i) conviction of an offense; and
(ii) confinement or imprisonment and inability to care for the child
for not less than two years from the date of filing the petition;
(R) been the cause of the child being born addicted to alcohol or a
controlled substance, other than a controlled substance legally obtained
by prescription, as defined by Section 261.001;
(S) voluntarily delivered the child to a designated emergency infant
care provider under Section 262.302 without expressing an intent to
return for the child; or
(T) been convicted of the murder of the other parent of the child under
Section 19.02 or 19.03, Penal Code, or under a law of another state,
federal law, the law of a foreign country, or the Uniform Code of
Military Justice that contains elements that are substantially similar to
the elements of an offense under Section 19.02 or 19.03, Penal Code; and
(2) that termination is in the best interest of the child.