Legal Question in Family Law in Texas

You can't adopt the child before it is born.

A child can have only two parents; before you can adopt, you have to terminate Dad's parental rights. And you have to have GROUNDS to do so, unless Dad is willing to sign an affidavit of relinquishment of parental rights.

Section 161.001 of the Texas Family Code says the following with regard to involuntary termination of parental rights:

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); and

(xiii) Section 43.26 (possession or

promotion of child pornography);

(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.