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If you give up all parental rights, Do you still have to pay child support on that child? I also need to know how to in Alabama
Anonymous6 views4 answers
My ex has not allowed me to talk to or see my children in 3 years. One is now 15 and the older one is 19. I am considering giving up my parental rights since she has made my children hate me. The 15 year old is and has been on SSI (for low birth weight) He now has a eating disorder. He gets a disability check from SSI but I am ordered to pay childsupport. His mother could not work due to a feeding tube that he had till he was 5 years old. She is suing me for childsupport and back time I lost my job a year ago and when i found new employment she presented the voluntary court order to have the payments cut out of my check. I lost that job a week later.
I will defer to the experts in this area. Generally giving up parental rights means that you would not pay support but its not that easy. You cannot just give up your rights and walk away. If there was a parent (like a new husband) seeking to adopt the children then it might be possible but that doesnt appear to be your situation.
You can not give up your right as a parent to avoid child support. There must be another seeking to step in to your shoes of a parent for you to sever parental rights. Too, your ex cannot forbid you to see your children and exercise visitation. Even non payment of support when you are without a job does not take the right of visitation away. If there are other reasons for no visitation such as substance abuse or violence, one is allowed a supervised visitation with their children.
I agree w my colleagues. You can take her back to court for contempt if she won't let u see your children. You cannot avoid child support by giving up parental rights. Only adoption ends future support from being accumulated. You may need to take her back to modify the child support if its based on a larger income source than you have now.
Your question presents several issues that require separate responses. In Alabama, although child support and visitation are always discussed in the same sentence, they are not interdependent. The right to visit one's child is not a reward for paying child support. You have a right to visitation regardless of the status of your child support payment unless the Court's Order provides otherwise. Addressed individually, you are not liable for child support once a child reaches to age of 19 years unless ordered to pay post-minority support for a child who is in college or disabled. However, you are liable for child support arrearages that accured during your periods of unemployment plus interest. What you call a voluntary court order in Alabama is considered an "Income Withholding Order" (IWO) and the lost of your employment should have nothing to do with the service on an IWO on your employer. I suggest you immediately contact an attorney if you wish to slow the mounting debt you are incurring by not paying child support. And NO, you can not relinquish your parental rights to avoid paying child support. Good luck.
