Name Change and Giving Up Parental Rights

My question involves name change laws in the State of: Texas! well I'm looking for information to help my friend. She divorced in Nov of 07, and she had a child with her ex-husband, which up to this day he still neglects, and nevers sees or calls to check how he's doing! He was required to pay child support which he does when he's employed. He is anxious to give up his parental rights so that her new fiancee can take over, and be their sons father, and he wont be stuck paying child support anymore. With that being said can she change her sons last name to her's or her fiancee's last name once they are legallly married? and is it that easy for her ex-husband to give up his parental rights? :confused:Any help will be greatly appreciated.. Thank you

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Quoting munchkin_32

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My question involves name change laws in the State of: Texas! well I'm looking for information to help my friend. She divorced in Nov of 07, and she had a child with her ex-husband, which up to this day he still neglects, and nevers sees or calls to check how he's doing! He was required to pay child support which he does when he's employed. He is anxious to give up his parental rights so that her new fiancee can take over, and be their sons father, and he wont be stuck paying child support anymore. With that being said can she change her sons last name to her's or her fiancee's last name once they are legallly married? and is it that easy for her ex-husband to give up his parental rights? :confused:Any help will be greatly appreciated.. Thank you

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No, she cannot just change her son's name to that of a fiancee.

The process she is looking to accomplish is adoption.

Tell her to wait a year after they are married. Get the ex to sign off his parental rights in favor of the hubby. File the petition in court.

While this can be done by regular citizens, I recommend strongly the use of an attorney to make sure all the i's are dotted and t's crossed.

Even if he keeps calling her, and bugging her that he wants to give up his rights already? Thank you for the quick repsonse.

If she marries her fiancé and petitions to change her child's name to her new surname, there's no reason to believe that a court wouldn't entertain her motion and decide her petition in the best interest of the child. If the biological father stipulated to the name change, it's extremely likely that the court would go along with the petition.

But a name change won't affect the biological father's duty to support his own child. Court's don't happily sever parental rights (and duties) absent a compelling cause (e.g., state initiated actions over abuse or neglect) or somebody else stepping in to take over the parental role (i.e., step-parent adoption).

Here is the crux of it.

Your friend is trying to reassign parental obligation outside of a court room. That really can't be done.

Your friend could try, today, to have the fiancee adopt the child, but the chances of that are VERY slim as judges really like there to be a guarantee of a stable family for the adoption.

The year was not cast in stone... but it is what most judges look for.

Oh ok i get what you are saying! Thank you so much for your help. In the mean time she has filed a motion to modify the child support. They have sent out paperwork to both parties concerning the modification, but she is having the hardest time finding out where he lives to have him served! Is their another way of her find out that information? Would the Attorney General be able to give her his current address for that soul purpose?

If she can't track down his physical address, and her process server is unable to do so, she can petition the court to permit "substituted service" - that typically involves some combination of publication, public posting and/or service on the person's last known address. Once that's done as ordered by the court, the court will treat him as if he was served.

But bottome line its not that easy for her ex-husband to just give up his parental rights just like that correct? I know that she has called him to request his current address, but he refuses to give it too her. Thanks to everyone that has posted a response. I really appreciate it.

I have 1 more question. When my friend gets married, and her ex-husband is willing giving up his parental rights after a year would he still be required to pay her child support? Even though her new husband is willing to adopt her son, and give him his last name!

Until the adoption is finalized by the court, the current listed parents continue to pay.

To put it another way, a court order is just that, an ORDER. Not a suggestion or a guideline. It has the force of law over those mentioned within it.

Until that order is changed in court, the court order applies. Period. Even if.