Natural Father's Rights VS Stepfather

[Holly70]

My husband has a child previous to our getting married. They were never married and the mother had custody of the child and my husband is paying child support. The mother got married and her and the husband would not let my husband see the child. After trying and trying to be in her life we gave up because of all the fighting. She is 14 now and we were able to locate the mother and child about 6 months ago and began visitation again. The child has gotten used to us and the visitation and enjoys coming to see us now. She calls us almost every weekend wanting to come visit us. I found out that the mother has not had this child or her other two children for 4 years now. She and her husband got a divorce and he got custody of the other two children and she apparently signed over custody to my husband's child to her ex-husband. I do not understand how that is legal seeing as they never contacted her natural father about this. My husband would love to have custody of her and for her to live with us. I believe that she does not want to live with her step father. He will not even let her see her mother and every time he gets mad at her he tells her to pack her stuff and get out.
She recently called me upset about this and her step father and I had a conversation about it. Does he actually have any right to keep her from her natural father? What action should we take about this? Can we get her for visitation one weekend and legally just keep her with us and let her live with us? What are my husband's rights as the natural father. Also, where has the child support been going since she has not had the child for 4 years?

 

[irish223]

It's uncommon for a stepparent to be awarded court-ordered custody. Is your husband the legal father? Are there any court-ordered visitation orders? Was the child support court-ordered?

 

[Holly70]

Yes, he is the legal, biological father. There are court ordered papers for support/visitation. He pays child support through the Texas Att. General. We are not sure if there is actual court papers that she signed for her ex-husband to have custody of the child. This is just what she has told us.

 

[irish223]

Yes, he is the legal, biological father. There are court ordered papers for support/visitation. He pays child support through the Texas Att. General. We are not sure if there is actual court papers that she signed for her ex-husband to have custody of the child. This is just what she has told us.

Well, then he needs to modify custody. He definitely should have been served notice of any court hearing regarding a change of custody, so I would guess that it's not a legal arrangement. I would be wary of just keeping her after a weekend. The ex can claim that the stepfather is just providing babysitting.

The child support is most likely still going to the mom. Your husband will have to address that with the court as well, but he should not stop paying until it's been changed.

 

[army judge]

Yes, he is the legal, biological father. There are court ordered papers for support/visitation. He pays child support through the Texas Att. General. We are not sure if there is actual court papers that she signed for her ex-husband to have custody of the child. This is just what she has told us.

Many people think they can sign away their parental rights to children simply by drafting a letter and/or notarizing same.
They are wrong.
Children are not property.
Parental rights do not translate to property rights.
You can not transfer parental rights as you might do with the title to a car or a piece of property.

But, this female idiot (masquerading as a mother), appears to have "transferred" her maternal rights to a male paramour.
This poor child was given, sold, or bartered to a male, not related to the child by blood.
This is a travesty.
It is wrong.
It is rarely done in Texas.

I suspect it wasn't done under the auspices of the court.
This is a backdoor, under the table deal.

Excuse my rant, madam.
I suggest you have your husband speak with an attorney.
He might also work with the Texas AG's Office about this.

He is paying child support to a woman that NO LONGER is supporting her child.
You might even want to inform DFPS, IMMEDIATELY.
The child could be in danger.

At a minimum, your husband is being defrauded.
Please, have your husband do something about this.

 

[Holly70]

Thank you so much for all of your (very) helpful replies. I will most definitely have my husband get on top of this right away.

 

[irish223]

You're quite welcome, and good luck to him!

 

[Proserpina]

I do want to add to this thread. There is such a thing as a 'de facto' parent and sometimes, if a third party (legal stranger) has been the parental figure for most of the child's life - as appears to be the case here - that third party often has standing to sue for custody of the child.

It's not common, but it is possible.

However at 14, it's likely that in Texas the child's wishes will also carry some weight in court. But you need to be prepared for step-dad to fight.


And on a completely unrelated note, expect a forum troll named "lonelyinny" to come along and spew the usual "stepparents have no rights" crap.

Good luck to all of you!

 

[bluemann33]

I do want to add to this thread. There is such a thing as a 'de facto' parent and sometimes, if a third party (legal stranger) has been the parental figure for most of the child's life - as appears to be the case here - that third party often has standing to sue for custody of the child.

It's not common, but it is possible.

However at 14, it's likely that in Texas the child's wishes will also carry some weight in court. But you need to be prepared for step-dad to fight.


And on a completely unrelated note, expect a forum troll named "lonelyinny" to come along and spew the usual "stepparents have no rights" crap.



Good luck to all of you!

lol. maybe she/he wont see this one.