We always tell our clients that it is very rare that a court would strip a person of their parental rights. It’s one thing to limit visitation to a few days a month. There are even situations where a parent is only entitled to supervised visitation.
Some judges will even terminate physical custody if it’s in the best interests of the children. But when it comes to actually terminating parental rights? It doesn’t happen often. Judges are very careful about doing this.
Once parental rights are terminated, they can’t be reinstated. Yes, technically there are ways to get around this. If your rights are terminated, you can always adopt your own child later on. But this is very rare.
Your Houston child custody attorney can help you deal with a custody situation. If your ex is trying to have the court terminate your parental rights, you need a lawyer by your side. This is a serious matter. You don’t want to handle it on your own.
A Houston Child Custody Attorney Understands How to Deal with a Custody Battle
Sadly, a lot of divorces involve custody disputes. The parents can’t agree on visitation. Maybe both parents want primary physical custody. Or, it could be a matter of neither parent wanting to be named the responsible parent – although this is rare.
Attorneys know that the judges will always rule in the best interests of the children. And, with few exceptions, children are always better off when they get to see both parents. Nobody benefits from keeping children away from one of their parents.
Unfortunately, there are some situations where a judge has no choice but to strip a parent of his rights. If a parent is fundamentally dangerous or unhealthy for the children, the court may have no choice.
If you’re facing termination of your parental rights, you need to call an experienced Houston child custody attorney.
Your Houston Child Custody Attorney Knows the Ways to Terminate Parental Rights in Texas
There are two (2) ways for your parental rights to be terminated in Texas. First, they can be voluntarily terminated. If a parent consents to the termination of his rights, the court will honor this request.
When would a person agree to terminate their parental rights?;
- He finds out he isn’t the father
- The mother is getting remarried and he agrees to let the new husband adopt the children
- He’s terminally ill
- He’s leaving the country
- He’s going to be incarcerated for years
It’s one thing to agree to terminate your rights. It’s another for them to be taken away from you.
There are a few ways your parental rights can be involuntarily terminated in Houston:
- Abuse
- Neglect
- Repeated refusal to pay child support
- Endangering the children physically, emotionally, mentally or sexually
- Abandonment
- Being convicted of abuse or the killing of another child
- Sexually abusing your child or another child
If you’re accused of any of these things, you’re going to have to defend yourself in court. Although judges are reluctant to terminate parental rights, in cases where the children are at risk, he won’t hesitate to do it.
Your Houston Child Custody Attorney Must Prove Two Things
If you’re seeking to terminate someone’s parental rights, you have to meet two separate burdens. First, you have to prove that the other parent did something to warrant having his rights terminated. This could include any of the behaviors discussed above.
Second, you must also prove that terminating rights is in the best interests of the children. This is not as easy as it may seem. The court is going to keep the children’s best interests in mind at all times. If he doesn’t feel it’s best for the kids to lose their other parent, they won’t terminate his parental rights.
Before a judge will terminate someone’s parental rights, he’ll explore what options there are to resolve the situation. Perhaps counseling could help. Or, maybe the court will order supervised visitation. It depends on your case.
Contact a Houston Child Custody Attorney Today
If you’re looking to terminate someone’s parental rights or your own rights are being threatened, call a Houston child custody attorney. These cases can be very complicated. And, there is a lot at stake.
You don’t want to wait until the last minute to hire an attorney. The judge isn’t going to grant postponements of these cases because they don’t want the children to be in jeopardy. If the situation is so dire that termination is even an issue, the children may be in danger.
Call and speak with a Houston child custody attorney today. He can answer any questions you may have.