Legal Question in Family Law in Texas

Re: Guardianship Rules

The best option is a termination and adoption, if the father will agree. When you say the father signed all rights over to you, do you mean that he signed a "Relinquishment of Parental Rights," or something else? If the father will not agree to a relinquishment and you are mainly concerned about guardianship after you die, then you should name your husband as guardian in your Will and set up a trust for your son's property. The trust can be either inter vivos ( a "living trust") or in your will (a testamentary trust). You did not state whether your son is a minor or whether he is an incapacitated adult. Either way, it is very important for you to have a Will.

Re: Guardianship Rules

I am a little confused. Were the biological father's parental rights terminated or did he just choose to stay out of your child's life. The one way you can assure that your husband will be granted custody is to do a termination and adoption. If the biological father agrees this should be a simple matter. The biological father has his parental rights terminated and your husband adopts the child. If the biological father objects - the case is a totally different story. He has a real incentive to go along with the case because if his rights are terminated, he will be off the hook for all future child support.

Good luck.