Child custody

Elizabeth Rankin Powell

TX has jurisdiction over the daughters, so a TX attorney is going to have to be consulted. If the girls were in WA, I'd first want to know why they were in foster care rather than with you and your husband. Presuming it was an oversight rather than that your husband's rights to his daughters had been previously terminated, then here's my answer: The foster parents claim is based upon familiarity, but nothing more. Your husband has a parental right to take care of his daughters, and for them to be with him. There is no longer another parent with a custody claim, just your husband. The foster parent's claim is not as well-grounded as his claim. TX would have to come up with a really compelling reason why he cannot go get the girls and bring them to his home. As to whether the state has the responsibility to notify him when the ex died, I can't say one way or the other. Seems odd that he wasn't notified by the foster parents or the girls. I hope this helps. Elizabeth Powell

Jacqueline Harounian

In the State of New York (similar to the procedure followed in most other states), a child's natural father will be notified before a child is put into foster care, and certainly before parental rights are terminated or the child is adopted. If the father is paying child support, the state should have an address for him, and he should have been notified upon the ex-wife's death. If he wants to pursue custody of the children (which is his right, and his rights are superior to anyone else's) he should expeditiously file the appropriate petitions in Family Court and not delay. In most states, the longer the children remain in foster care, the more support there is for a finding that the parent has "abandoned" the children. So time is of the essence. Good luck.

Craig Edward Kennedy

It appears that upon the death of the mother, TDPRS [the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services otherwise commonly referred to as CPS] petitioned the family court (the District Court) for Conservatorship. Once granted, the local CPS placed the children in a foster placement. (It's good that the TDPRS investigator or substitute care worker tracked you down to inform you that the biological mother had passed away....)

So for right now, the State of Texas is the 'parent' of these children.

Since it is mandated by federal law for the agency to find relative placements first, your husband should be the priority for the agency in getting these kids a permanent home. I would suggest that you contact the substitute care worker along with his or her supervisor to start visits and get going on a placement plan. You may also want to hire private counsel to represent you in the District Court (Family Court) where this action is taking place.

Remember, your husband hasn't had a lot of contact with these children, so getting to know them is extremely important. It goes without saying that children want to know they are wanted. That obligation is up to your husband and to you, quite frankly. The sooner he gets moving on this, the happier the outcome should be.

You can contact the State Bar of Texas in Austin for additional details and for referral to the local bar in the county your husband's children are located in.

And one other thing: I don't look at it as 'bad' that the foster parents love your husband's children - rather,it's usually a sure sign that the kids will be well taken care of and that the foster parents really care!

Good luck - I hope this helped you!