Legal Question in Family Law in Louisiana
My ex husband is getting re-married and now wants nothing to do with our 5 year old son. He wants to sign his parental rights over to me and wants me to get the paper work drawn up to have this done. How do I do this? He is $13,000 in arrears on child support can I have this dropped even if it is through the state? And can I have my son's last name changed to my maiden name? Any help on where I need to begin on any of this would be greatly appreciated. Thank You
1 Answer from Attorneys
No court is going to allow what you are proposing unless there is another man who wants to adopt and support this child. The child support rights are "the child's" and not yours or his derelict dad's, so you cannot just decide to terminate his right to support. You should aggressively pursue the arrearages and then assure the support is paid on time from now on. First you should ask your ex to write his proposal down. Then you will have his intentions in writing in case he wants to start demanding visitation. Your child needs proper representation and you are the only one who can represent his interests. Remember also, even if your ex relinguishes all his rights and your son is adopted, he still inherits from his biological father. Do not let him down. Get the money he is due and since you obviously do not need it, put it away for him so he will have it when ready for college.