Can my husband give up his parental rights?

Can my husband give up his parental rights. His daughter lives in one state and we live in another.

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He can give up his rights by just not excercising them...he however can't get out of child support. The only "way out" of child support is if there is a step father that wants to adopt.

He cannot give up parental rights by merely not exercising them. He must give them up formally.

He will, however, be financially obligated to pay child support.

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Originally Posted by Unregistered He cannot give up parental rights by merely not exercising them. He must give them up formally. He will, however, be financially obligated to pay child support.

That is incorrect. He can just choose to stop excercising his parental rights (ie custody/shared decision making/etc). He can't be forced to be a father, there doesn't need to be a formal order.

If the other parent wanted his parental rights terminated against his will or due to his voluntary termination (ie - to up child support if it increases the custodial parents time with the child significantly) - there would need to be an order.

It is not incorrect. You are incorrect. Failing to act as a parent does not dissolve, legally, the rights a parent has over their child. Simply not exercising those rights means nothing in the legal sense. They can, at any time, pick up their rights whenever they choose if there is no court order stating otherwise.

To legally surrender one's rights, they must formally do so with the family courts.

Let's not get off topic. The OP asked if the father can give up his parental rights, not simply stop exercising them.

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She also didn't ask how he can "legally" give up his parental rights. Just if he can give them up. If he'd like to go to court and pay an attorney to say he has no right to make decisions about his childrens lives or excercise visitation with them, he could surely do that.

Or...he can just unofficially give them up by not excercising them. Either way, he won't get out of child support. And this way - he doesn't have to pay an attorney and appear in court to do it. He would also have the option to try and re-enter the childs life at a later date if he chose to do so. Where as if he goes to the extent to divorce his child (in a sense) by legally terminating his rights to the child, he will have a harder time getting rights back if he decides later he wants them.

Originally Posted by Unregistered Can my husband give up his parental rights. His daughter lives in one state and we live in another.

basically all posters are saying the same thing--no he cannot just sign them over if that is what you mean

he does not have to see the child but he will liable for support if the mother wants it, unless the child is adopted by another father