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Texas Family Code - Section 161.103. Affidavit Of Voluntary Relinquishment Of Parental Rights

Legal Research Home > Texas Lawyer > Family Code > Texas Family Code - Section 161.103. Affidavit Of Voluntary Relinquishment Of Parental Rights

§ 161.103. AFFIDAVIT OF VOLUNTARY RELINQUISHMENT OF 
PARENTAL RIGHTS.  (a) An affidavit for voluntary relinquishment of 
parental rights must be:
		(1)  signed after the birth of the child, but not before 
48 hours after the birth of the child, by the parent, whether or not 
a minor, whose parental rights are to be relinquished;
		(2)  witnessed by two credible persons;  and                                  
		(3)  verified before a person authorized to take oaths.                       
	(b)  The affidavit must contain:                                               
		(1)  the name, address, and age of the parent whose 
parental rights are being relinquished;
		(2)  the name, age, and birth date of the child;                              
		(3)  the names and addresses of the guardians of the 
person and estate of the child, if any;
		(4)  a statement that the affiant is or is not presently 
obligated by court order to make payments for the support of the 
child;
		(5)  a full description and statement of value of all 
property owned or possessed by the child;
		(6)  an allegation that termination of the parent-child 
relationship is in the best interest of the child;
		(7)  one of the following, as applicable:                                     
			(A)  the name and address of the other parent;                               
			(B)  a statement that the parental rights of the 
other parent have been terminated by death or court order;  or
			(C)  a statement that the child has no presumed 
father and that an affidavit of status of the child has been 
executed as provided by this chapter;
		(8)  a statement that the parent has been informed of 
parental rights and duties;  
		(9)  a statement that the relinquishment is revocable, 
that the relinquishment is irrevocable, or that the relinquishment 
is irrevocable for a stated period of time;
		(10)  if the relinquishment is revocable, a statement 
in boldfaced type concerning the right of the parent signing the 
affidavit to revoke the relinquishment only if the revocation is 
made before the 11th day after the date the affidavit is executed;
		(11)  if the relinquishment is revocable, the name and 
address of a person to whom the revocation is to be delivered;  and
		(12)  the designation of a prospective adoptive parent, 
the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services, if the 
department has consented in writing to the designation, or a 
licensed child-placing agency to serve as managing conservator of 
the child and the address of the person or agency.
	(c)  The affidavit may contain:                                                
		(1)  a waiver of process in a suit to terminate the 
parent-child relationship filed under this chapter or in a suit to 
terminate joined with a petition for adoption;  and
		(2)  a consent to the placement of the child for 
adoption by the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services or 
by a licensed child-placing agency.
	(d)  A copy of the affidavit shall be provided to the parent 
at the time the parent signs the affidavit.
	(e)  The relinquishment in an affidavit that designates the 
Department of Protective and Regulatory Services or a licensed 
child-placing agency to serve as the managing conservator is 
irrevocable.  A relinquishment in any other affidavit of 
relinquishment is revocable unless it expressly provides that it is 
irrevocable for a stated period of time not to exceed 60 days after 
the date of its execution.
	(f)  A relinquishment in an affidavit of relinquishment of 
parental rights that fails to state that the relinquishment is 
irrevocable for a stated time is revocable as provided by Section 
161.1035.
	(g)  To revoke a relinquishment under Subsection (e) the 
parent must sign a statement witnessed by two credible persons and 
verified before a person authorized to take oaths.  A copy of the 
revocation shall be delivered to the person designated in the 
affidavit.  If a parent attempting to revoke a relinquishment under 
this subsection has knowledge that a suit for termination of the 
parent-child relationship has been filed based on the parent's 
affidavit of relinquishment of parental rights, the parent shall 
file a copy of the revocation with the clerk of the court.
	(h)  The affidavit may not contain terms for limited 
post-termination contact between the child and the parent whose 
parental rights are to be relinquished as a condition of the 
relinquishment of parental rights.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, § 1, eff. April 20, 1995.  
Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 751, § 69, eff. Sept. 1, 
1995;  Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 561, § 9, eff. Sept. 1, 1997;  
Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 561, § 3, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.

Last modified: August 11, 2007