Statistics shows that roughly half of all kids in the United States witness the separation of their parents. After the divorce or breakup, most of these parents split into two categories: custodial and non-custodial. That means one of the parents has to pay child support to the custodial parent while being allowed to see his/her child every once in a while.
But this parenting plan does not work for everyone. Here at the Ault Legal, our best child support attorneys in Salt Lake City receive this same question from frustrated parents over and over again, “How do I sign away my parental rights to avoid paying child support?”
This is a good question to ask, but let us warn you – you will most likely not be pleased to hear the answer. That is because, technically, it is extremely difficult (almost impossible) to sign away your parental rights voluntarily. Let our Salt Lake City child support attorney explain why.
Why avoid paying child support?
Why do some parents want to terminate their parental rights? Don’t they care about their child’s well-being and financial prosperity if they want to avoid paying child support?
Let’s just say that it is often too complicated, and cases like these cannot always be summarized in black and white. There are many cases in which the noncustodial parent is legally required to make monthly child support payments without getting the opportunity to establish a connection with his/her child.
And more often than not, custodial parents keep complaining that the existing child support order is not enough to finance the child’s lifestyle and buy him/her some essential things for development, education, healthcare, and other… You cannot really blame noncustodial parents in such situations for wanting to terminate their parental rights.
They never get to see their kids. Their child does not even recognize them anymore. And yet their wallets keep getting thinner while the custodial parent cannot guarantee that the other parent spends enough time with the kid to enjoy a positive relationship.
“It is understandable why many noncustodial parents seek to sign away their parental rights as they no longer want to put up with their ex and pay their hard-earned money for basically becoming strangers with their own kids,” explains our Salt Lake City child custody lawyer at the Ault Legal.
How to terminate your parental rights to get out of child support?
So how do you sign away your parental rights to avoid making child support payments? It is extremely difficult to terminate your parental rights voluntarily. In fact, the chance that you will ever get the opportunity to terminate your parental rights are very low.
Under family law in Utah, you can get out of paying child support voluntarily only if the other parent gets married again and their new spouse will want to pursue a step-parent adoption, assuming full financial responsibility for supporting the child.
If this is not a viable option, there is not much you can do to sign away your parental rights. However, there may be another way out from this situation, says our Salt Lake City child custody attorney. And the best part is that you get to keep your parental rights.
Utah family law does not allow parents to sign away their parental rights so easily because it would not be in the child’s best interests. However, if you and your lawyer can persuade the family court that it would in the child’s best interests if your parental rights were terminated, you may still be able to sign away your parental rights without having to resort to other options.
But a much better option would be to hire an experienced family law attorney in Salt Lake City or elsewhere in Utah and either reduce the amount of child support due to the custodial parent’s reluctance to comply with the existing, court-approved parenting visitation schedule or ask the court to enforce your parental rights by preventing the other parent from obstructing you from having contact with the child.
There is always a way out. Consult with our skilled attorneys at the Ault Legal to find out which option would be the best in your particular case. Call our offices at 801-539-9000 or fill out this contact form.
