Legal Question in Family Law in Texas

Re: Willfully giving up parental rights

I know of people who have tried to have ther parental rights terminated in order to avoid child support but have never heard of a judge who agreed to sign the orders. Your wife needs to be aware that her ex can come back to court at anytime and file for past due child support. Until the child is 18 and a half she faces not only a huge judgment against her - she could also go to jail for contempt of court.

Willfully giving up parental rights

Although the Mother has not seen or supported the child in 10 years, she is not entltled to end her legal obligation to pay child support. Although the Father might take steps to terminate her parental rights and would have a good reason for doing so, it is his decision to make, since he has the right to collect the child support from her. Under Nevada law, he could still sue the Mother for every penny of back support up until the day the parental rights were actually terminated.

The Mother needs to prove that she is "of good moral character" to qualify for US citizenship. It may be that the government feels that someone who doesn't pay child support does not have "good moral character." If that is the case, terminating her parental rights will not make the problem of nonpayment of child support go away. The problem is that she has not lived up to her legal and moral responsibilities.