Legal Question in Family Law in Texas
I separated from my husband in 2005, we have 2 children together, in 2007 I had a son with a man who i was not married to, my husband signed a paper in the hospital the day after my son was born allowing his name to be the other mans. No d. n. a . testing was ever done, however I am 100% confident that he was not my husbands, I had a VERY bad illness just days after he was born, I was in the hospital, the hospital allowed the man to take the baby out of the hospital without my consent, I was VERY ill, I was told that everything was ok, and that arrangements were made for me to move back to the home where my son was now living. When I came back the mood was very bad, my other 2 children were miserable, i was still having sever complications from my illness, the family i was living with< i.e. the man on my son�s birth certificate, was very harsh and not understanding in their treatment, constantly causing trouble, it was decided one afternoon that I couldn�t take it anymore, my mother came and got me and my first 2 children and took me to her home, I had no way of taking care of anyone at that time, I left the baby with the man and his sister at her house, My entire family were heatedly angry that I had not been able to take the baby, I was trying so hard to peacefully contain the situation, my cousin drove me to the police station and had the sheriff see if he could get the baby out, but the sheriff was not able to legally get him out that night and threatened to call cps if we were all going to fight about it, I went home very dejected, I finalized the divorce from my husband, I was falsely informed by my lawyer ( who I now know is a very shady lawyer) that I could have my son as the child of my husband, I later found out that my cheap and quick divorce was riddled with wrong, I have never been through anything like this before, my now ex-husband pays very little and irregular child support for all the children listed on my decree, I have lost contact with the man that has my son. He contacted me very ugly and had his new "wife" scream in a voice mail that she was now my son�s real mommy; the man called and asked me to sign papers giving up my rights. His sister has treated physical harm to me and my family if I ever contact her, It is now almost 5 yrs, I have remarried < happily, I have had a baby girl with my husband, I fell down a flight of stairs when I was 8 months pregnant with her broke my hip and my back and have been slowly healing from that, I really want to have my son, what advice would you give me?
I got married at 17 to my first husband, we were together 11 yrs before we called it quits, he has NEVER been able to hold down a job, I am now in a very stable loving marriage with my childhood friend who came home after 2 tours in Iraq. He loves my children as if they were his own and is a wonder father to our daughter. The facts of this are very embarrassing and make me very empty inside, I just need some good advice on what I can do.
1 Answer from Attorneys
You should go talk to a good family law attorney as soon as possible. At the least, you should be able to obtain an order in a "suit affecting the parent-child relationship" that makes you a conservator and gives you a possession schedule. It might be a graduated schedule if you have had little or no contact with the child for a long time. You will also be expected to pay child support.
If the facts support it, you might even get primary possession, but that will be difficult as you would be removing the child from the environment that he knows. If the father puts up a fight, don't expect this to be inexpensive.
The father will possibly respond with a counter-suit asking that you pay retroactive child support for the child since birth. Don't be surprised. He might also ask for termination of you parental rights if the facts support it.
You should do nothing, including talking to the man or his family, until you talk to a good attorney. Ask around for referrals or find an attorney board certified in family law in your area.
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