What is the name of your state? Texas
Situation: My live-in boyfriend has a 4 year old son, whom I have been mother to for about 2 and half years. His son was born in December of 2000 at which time my boyfriend was not aware that the child was his. At this time, his son was born addicted to a controlled substance. He was taken away from biological mom the day of birth and brought into the care of Child Protective Services (CPS). He lived with a foster family for about a year and half. My boyfriend was notified in October of 2001 about the child. After determining the child was his, he worked with CPS to get custody of him. In May of 2002, my boyfriend gained custody of his son. At this time, his son came to live with us. After biological mom found out my boyfriend obtained custody of their son, she wrote two letters regarding seeing the child. After that, we never heard from her again until now (3 years later). She recently sent a letter regarding same. She has been on the run for some time now and has now been caught by authorities. She is currently incarcerated and will be serving a 10 year sentence. We have been searching for her in regards to changing the child's name. He was given her name at the time of birth, since she did not know who the father was. My boyfriend will now like for his son to have his name.
First: If she does not give consent to change his name (she probably won't), is it likely that the court will still grant the change despite her not giving consent?
Second: Will the court terminate her rights based on the fact that she has never cared for the child, and she never will due to her drug addiction and prison sentence? (Her rights were involuntairly terminated from another one of her sons because of the same reasons.)
Third: I would like to adopt my boyfriend's son. The problem is he will not give consent to do so until we are married. We will not be getting married anytime soon. I want to adopt him right now while we have biological mom in site and reach. I have been the only mother his son has ever known, and I want to continue to be even if his father and I do not stay together in the future. I care for his son just as much as he does. He is my life. Would it be possible to adopt his son even though my boyfriend will not give consent and in the even that biological mom's rights are terminated?
After researching the family codes/laws dealing with these 3 issues, it appears that all can be resolved in our/my favor without consent. On the other hand, I am not an attorney; therefore, I may not be interpreting the laws correctly.
Please advise.
Thank You.
Situation: My live-in boyfriend has a 4 year old son, whom I have been mother to for about 2 and half years. His son was born in December of 2000 at which time my boyfriend was not aware that the child was his. At this time, his son was born addicted to a controlled substance. He was taken away from biological mom the day of birth and brought into the care of Child Protective Services (CPS). He lived with a foster family for about a year and half. My boyfriend was notified in October of 2001 about the child. After determining the child was his, he worked with CPS to get custody of him. In May of 2002, my boyfriend gained custody of his son. At this time, his son came to live with us. After biological mom found out my boyfriend obtained custody of their son, she wrote two letters regarding seeing the child. After that, we never heard from her again until now (3 years later). She recently sent a letter regarding same. She has been on the run for some time now and has now been caught by authorities. She is currently incarcerated and will be serving a 10 year sentence. We have been searching for her in regards to changing the child's name. He was given her name at the time of birth, since she did not know who the father was. My boyfriend will now like for his son to have his name.
First: If she does not give consent to change his name (she probably won't), is it likely that the court will still grant the change despite her not giving consent?
Second: Will the court terminate her rights based on the fact that she has never cared for the child, and she never will due to her drug addiction and prison sentence? (Her rights were involuntairly terminated from another one of her sons because of the same reasons.)
Third: I would like to adopt my boyfriend's son. The problem is he will not give consent to do so until we are married. We will not be getting married anytime soon. I want to adopt him right now while we have biological mom in site and reach. I have been the only mother his son has ever known, and I want to continue to be even if his father and I do not stay together in the future. I care for his son just as much as he does. He is my life. Would it be possible to adopt his son even though my boyfriend will not give consent and in the even that biological mom's rights are terminated?
After researching the family codes/laws dealing with these 3 issues, it appears that all can be resolved in our/my favor without consent. On the other hand, I am not an attorney; therefore, I may not be interpreting the laws correctly.
Please advise.
Thank You.