Legal Question in Family Law in Texas

My husband was in a relationship before we married and was with a woman that swore she was unable to have children. He finds out later that he has a 3 year old daughter that he now has seen one time. We dont understand why a woman has the right to give a child up for adoption and he does not. Now we have to pay child support for a child he doesnt see or know. We have a family of our own, and the Ex causes trouble now at every turn. My husband originally wanted to introduce the child into our family but she will not allow it. We went to court he was givin supervised visits at the mothers request due to him not ever being around her. the judge deemed that that was a suitible transition for the child with no regard for my husbands objections to this. Even with police reports of her harrassing us the judge deemed that they would be supervised by the ex. My husband is willing to pay for the childs support up until we can find a way to relinquish his rights. How do we go about doing this?


Asked on 4/09/11, 6:56 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Bob Leonard Bob Leonard Law Group, PLLC

Your husband will likely not be able to relinquish his rights. A mother has no more right to do that than a father.

Most judges would not thrust a child on to a parent that the child has never or rarely seen without some kind of a transition period. If the visits remain supervised or if they don't progress to standard possession within a reasonable period of time, then there is something else going on.

Does your husband have a lawyer? What does he or she say? If you don't have a lawyer, then it is very hard to prevail in court where you need to know rules of procedure and evidence. Also, an attorney can help you understand what is reasonable in the court system and in front of that particular judge.

Good luck to you.

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Answered on 4/11/11, 8:25 am


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