[puhnqwych]

I have two children with a man I never married. I took him to court for child support almost 7 years ago. He has made maybe 5 payments total in that amout of time. I found out yesterday that he is now receiving SSI and is no longer ordered to pay support. Not only that, but they are not going to go after hiim for his back support. He has not seen or talked to his children in two years. He is mentally unstable, that is why he is receiving SSI. My children do not call him dad. They do not want his last name. They don't want anything to do with him. Is there any way that I can get the back support that is owed to them and have his rights taken away so I can have their names changed to mine?

[kcomissiong]

1st... the post on this forum about termination of parental rights would have answered a lot of your questions. You cannot have his rights terminated at will. Courts very rarely terminate parental rights unless it is to facilitate an adoption. If he is mentally unstable, as you claim, he may not even be able to represent himself in court. If you want to change your childrens' names, petition your local court to do so, but you cannot eliminate his parental rights just because you would rather him not exist as a part of your lives.