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mzpepsicat · Oct 16, 2007, 08:03 PM

Is this legal? Can he do this? Will the courts allow it since the child support was court ordered? His wife and him are trying to bully me into hiring a lawyer and having the paper work drawn up for this. They both were convicted of child abuse against my son and she has a no contact order against her concerning my son. His father can only have supervised visits with him. He hasn't paid child support in over a year and now they are garnishing his check and the nasty phone calls and text messaging have begun. He hasn't come to see him in over a year, but my son still loves him. I don't want to be the one who does this to him.. I have had his father tell him that he wants it done, but all he said was he couldn't deal with it anymore and that he needed to make me get the lawyer and get the paperwork filled out.then when our 16 year old son said no, he started yelling at his son telling him that he doesn't exist for him anymore. My son said he doesn't want me to do this, but I'm worried that he will get the court to do this. If he does file it with a court, do they have to notify me of the petition? Can I fight it? I just don't understand all this... Thanks... :(

Synnen · Oct 16, 2007, 08:18 PM

You don't really have to do anything. No court is going to order a stop on child support even if he DOES sign away his rights.

Rights are just that--parental RIGHTS. They are the rights to determine how your child is educated, what religion they are, what medical treatment they get, things like that.

Parental OBLIGATIONS (which child support is under) are something different entirely. As parents, you have the obligation to make sure your child is fed and clothed and taken care of--that's what child support is for.

Get a lawyer just in case, but even if your ex convinces a judge to let him sign away his rights, it won't stop child support.

macksmom · Oct 17, 2007, 05:19 AM

You don't have to do a darn thing!! And they know it! That is why they are pushing you to get the papers drawn up... because he knows he can just say "oh hey, i want to sign away my rights"... if you were to draw up the papers and had someone to adopt the child, the bio father could agree and all would be done... he probably KNOWS he can't do this on his own.

Honey... sit back and relax... unless you agree in court, the is NO way he is getting his way!

ScottGem · Oct 17, 2007, 05:55 AM

As Synnen and Macksmom told you, relax. There is no way he can get a court to agree to this. A family court will generally not allow a termination of parental rights except where there is someone waiting to adopt or the parent presents a danger to the child. Even, in the unlikely event that a termination os granted, it won't necessarily affect support payments. So all you have to do is tell them you won't do it and they are free to try it in court.

But there is another issue and that's their harassment of you. You need to document these things. The calls, the messages everything, then you can go to the court and have a restraining order placed on them.