The father wants to sign over his rights...

9-9-220. Relinquishment and termination of parent and child relationship.

(a) With the exception of the duty to pay child support, the rights of a parent with reference to a child, including parental right to control the child or to withhold consent to an adoption, may be relinquished and the relationship of parent and child terminated in or prior to an adoption proceeding as provided in this section. The duty of a parent to pay child support shall continue until an interlocutory decree of adoption is entered.
(b) All rights of a parent with reference to a child, including the right to receive notice of a hearing on a petition for adoption, may be relinquished and the relationship of parent and child terminated by a writing, signed by an adult parent, subject to the court's approval.

If the parent is a minor, the writing shall be signed by a guardian ad litem who is appointed to appear on behalf of the minor parent for the purpose of executing such a writing. The signing shall occur in the presence of a representative of an agency taking custody of the child, or in the presence of a notary public, whether the agency is within or without the state, or in the presence and with the approval of a judge of a court of record of this state or any other state in which the minor was present at the time it was signed. The relinquishment shall be executed in the same manner as for a consent to adopt under § 9-9-208.

(1)(A) The relinquishment may be withdrawn within ten (10) calendar days after it is signed or the child is born, whichever is later.

(i) Notice of withdrawal shall be given by filing an affidavit with the probate clerk of the circuit court in the county designated by the writing as the county in which the guardianship petition will be filed if there is a guardianship, or where the petition for adoption will be filed, if there is no guardianship. If the ten-day period ends on a weekend or legal holiday, the person may file the affidavit the next working day.

(ii) No fee shall be charged for the filing of the affidavit.

(B) The relinquishment shall state that the parent has this right of withdrawal, and shall provide the address of the probate clerk of the circuit court in which the guardianship will be filed if there is a guardianship, or where the petition for adoption will be filed if there is no guardianship; or

(2) In any other situation, if notice of the adoption proceeding has been given to the parent and the court finds, after considering the circumstances of the relinquishment and the continued custody by the petitioner, that the best interest of the child requires the granting of the adoption.

(c) In addition to any other proceeding provided by law, the relationship of parent and child may be terminated by a court order issued under this subchapter on any ground provided by other law for termination of the relationship, or on the following grounds:

(1) Abandonment. (A) A child support order shall provide notice to the non-custodial parent that failure to pay child support or to visit the child for at least one (1) year shall provide the custodial parent with the right to initiate proceedings to terminate the parental rights of the non-custodial parent.

(B) If the notification clause required by subdivision (c)(1)(A) of this section is not in the child support order, the custodial parent, prior to termination of parental rights, shall notify the non-custodial parent that he or she intends to petition the court to terminate parental rights.

(C)(i) The non-custodial parent shall have three (3) months from the filing of the petition to pay a substantial amount of past due payments owed and to establish a relationship with his or her child or children.

(ii) Once the requirements under subdivision (c)(1)(C)(i) of this section are met, the custodial parent shall not be permitted to proceed with the adoption nor the termination of parental rights of the non-custodial parent.

(iii) The court may terminate parental rights of the non-custodial parent upon a showing that:
(a) Child support payments have not been made for one (1) year or the non-custodial parent has not visited the child in the preceding year and the non-custodial parent has not fulfilled the requirements of subdivision (c)(1)(C)(i) of this section; and
(b) It would be in the best interest of the child to terminate the parental relationship.

(D) The provisions of subdivisions (c)(1)(A) - (C) of this section apply only to child support orders entered after August 13, 2001.

(2) Neglect or abuse, when the court finds the causes are irremediable or will not be remedied by the parent.

(A) If the parents have failed to make reasonable efforts to remedy the causes and such failure has occurred for twelve (12) months, such failure shall raise the rebuttable presumption that the causes will not be remedied.

(B) If the parents have attempted to remedy the causes but have failed to do so within twelve (12) months, and the court finds there is no reasonable likelihood the causes will be remedied by the eighteenth month, the failures shall raise the rebuttable presumption that the causes will not be remedied.

(3) That in the case of a parent not having custody of a child, his consent is being unreasonably withheld contrary to the best interest of the child.

(d) For the purpose of proceeding under this subchapter, a decree terminating all rights of a parent with reference to a child or the relationship of parent and child issued by a court of competent jurisdiction in this or any other state dispenses with the consent to adoption proceedings of a parent whose rights or parent and child relationship are terminated by the decree and with any required notice of an adoption proceeding other than as provided in this section.

(e) A petition for termination of the relationships of parent and child made in connection with an adoption proceeding may be made by:

(1) Either parent if termination of the relationship is sought with respect to the other parent;

(2) The petitioner for adoption, the guardian of the person, the legal custodian of the child, or the individual standing in parental relationship to the child or the attorney ad litem for the child;

(3) An agency; or

(4) Any other person having a legitimate interest in the matter.

(f)(1) The petition shall be filed and service obtained according to the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure.

(2) Before the petition is heard, notice of the hearing and the opportunity to be heard shall be given the parents of the child, the guardian of the child, the person having legal custody of the child, a person appointed to represent any party in this proceeding, and any person granted rights of care, control, or visitation by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(g) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, a relinquishment of parental rights with respect to a child executed under this section may be withdrawn by the parent, and a decree of a court terminating the parent-child relationship under this section may be vacated by the court upon motion of the parent if the child is not on placement for adoption and the person having custody of the child consents in writing to the withdrawal or vacation of the decree.

My daughters dad and i have decided to look into him signing over his rights. Not because of child support, i don't get it anyway, but because i am getting remarried, and her dad has no involvement. We live in separate states. I would like to get information on him voluntarily signing over the rights for the best interest of the child. In the state of Texas.

Can anyone help me with information? It doesn't matter to either one of us if he is supposed to keep paying support, just that my new husband and i can raise her in a loving home and her dad is ok with this, and wants the same things.

thank you.

Montana, Thank you for your kind words and I will be sure to keep them in mind. We go to cort on the 14th of this month and I am just so happy to get this over with. Me and my sons father talked and now he is saying he isnt going to sign over the rights and all this other stuff and just looking back on what we had talked about I knew what he was saying was total BS! THank you once again it means alot to me!

Montana, I went to court and nothing happen, he asked for a paternaty test and so now we have to wait for that. How did your court go?