I have a 2 yr old daughter, and we live in Texas. When my daughter was 6mos. He decided being a father was too much an left to IL. I don't ask for child support, I have done it on my own and now I would like to just consider it his loss and remove any rights he may have. How would I go about getting him to sign his rights over and is it possible?

I can't say what specific forms would be involved, but I want to suggest that you think this through completely and ask yourself what you hope to gain by bringing this up with him now. He does not have to sign away his rights and if you ask him now, he might decide either to try to extract something from you in exchange (it could turn into a big fight), or it might make him decide that he suddenly wants to become a more involved father. Do you want that? I'm just saying that before you rock the boat, think about what the consequences could be. Could you unconsciously be trying to get his attention, remind him of what he is missing? I don't pretend to know, I'm just suggesting you think about where this could go, what you might be trying to do without realizing it. Also, maybe you would like some child support? You are entitled to it and you could probably get it if you wanted. But I wouldn't blame you if you didn't want to go that way. (I have an abusive ex I'd love to not have to deal with!)

I highly recommend the book "Getting to Yes," which talks about negotiation. To get what you want you will have to negotiate, so prepare yourself. Besides finding out about the process --what papers need to be filed where--I would read this book and think this through more.

Good luck to you and your daughter!
Asking

Hello cat:

If he doesn't want to give 'em up, you're not going to take 'em. That just doesn't happen in this country.

excon

You live in Texas and here is a website that lists the grounds of termination of parental rights in Texas: Grounds for Termination of Parental Rights Texas -

Your best bet would be to try and contact him and get him to reliquish his rights willingly. I mean, he isn't exercising them now anyway.
But, you will have to check to laws in Texas, in many states you will have to have someone willing to adopt the child in his place before the courts would allow his rights to be terminated or even for him to willingly sign the away.

If he isn't exercising his rights anyway... why not just let it be?

It's generally only possible if someone else is ready to adopt the child. Even then it can't be done without his written consent. And if you ever apply for public assistance you'll be required to make every effort to collect child support from the father.