What if the other parent won't sign consent in Texas?

If the other parent won't sign in Texas, the adoption can still go forward: the court terminates that parent's rights on a statutory ground and grants the adoption, often in the same case. In our experience, about 80% of the stepparent adoptions we've completed went forward without the other biological parent's consent. Typically that parent had stopped contact or support, couldn't be found after a reasonable search, never established paternity, didn't respond after notice, or had died.

What carries the case is a ground listed in Texas Family Code §161.001, shown by clear and convincing evidence, plus a finding that termination is in the child's best interest. Your job is to match your family's facts to the right ground and document them.

Pick your route, then the paperwork

The two grounds families use most

Two §161.001 grounds fit many stepparent families:

• §161.001(b)(1)(C): the parent voluntarily left the child alone or in another's possession without providing adequate support and remained away for at least six months.
• §161.001(b)(1)(F): the parent failed to support the child according to the parent's ability for one year ending within six months before the petition was filed.

Support is part of both grounds, so the payment history matters. Write down what was paid, when, and the long stretches with nothing.

For contact, keep a dated record of every visit, call and message, how long each lasted, and the gaps between them. Token contact (an occasional call or card) generally doesn't amount to keeping up a parental relationship, and a clear timeline shows the judge the real pattern. Under §161.001(c), being economically disadvantaged alone isn't a ground, so the record should focus on what the parent did and didn't do.

When the father never established paternity

Texas has a separate, simpler route for an alleged father. Under §161.002, his rights may be terminated if, after being served with citation, he doesn't respond by timely filing an admission of paternity or a counterclaim for paternity. If the child is over one year old, he hasn't registered with the paternity registry, and he can't be identified or located after a diligent search, his rights may also be terminated; the court needs the registry search certificate.

What consent means in this process

A parent who agrees signs an affidavit of relinquishment under §161.103, witnessed by two credible persons and verified before a person authorized to take oaths, with the statute's rules on revocability. That affidavit is what the court acts on, so a signed private letter isn't a substitute.

Chapter 162 covers the adoption itself. Section 162.016 lets termination and adoption be joined in one proceeding, with separate best-interest findings. Section 162.010 covers managing-conservator consent, the parent married to the stepparent joining the petition, and a child's consent at age 12 or older, which the court may waive as the statute provides.

Build your case file

1. Collect the birth certificate, marriage certificate and every custody, support or parentage order.
2. Make a dated chronology of visits, calls, messages, support payments and efforts to find the parent, with the records behind it.
3. Keep it factual: what happened and when.
4. If the other parent is actively contesting, talk with a local attorney. Confirm county filing requirements with the clerk.
5. Use our document service once your route is clear. Plan the adoption steps, review hearing preparation, and download the paperwork review planner.

Reviewed October 7, 2026 against the cited Texas statutes.