Would it be considered abandonment of children will not go back to the house?

Full question:

Would it be considered abandonment of children in the state of Texas if i will not go back to the house my soon to ex-husband wont leave. My lawyer says it is likely i wont get the house if i don't stay there before the temporary order is signed does this also me i will loose the kids i have them with me

• Category: Divorce
• Subcategory: Child Custody
• Date: 04/07/2025
• State: Texas

Answer:

Abandonment of a child in Texas is based on consideration of several factors, such as whether there is an intent to return, the length of time absent, who the child is left with, etc.

Please see the following TX statutes:

 

§ 161.001 FAM. Involuntary Termination of Parent-child Relationship

The court may order termination of the parent-child relationship if
the court finds by clear and convincing evidence:

(1) that the parent has:

(A) voluntarily left the child alone or in the possession of another
not the parent and expressed an intent not to return;

(B) voluntarily left the child alone or in the possession of another
not the parent without expressing an intent to return, without providing
for the adequate support of the child, and remained away for a period of
at least three months;

(C) voluntarily left the child alone or in the possession of another
without providing adequate support of the child and remained away for a
period of at least six months;

(D) knowingly placed or knowingly allowed the child to remain in
conditions or surroundings which endanger the physical or emotional
well-being of the child;

(E) engaged in conduct or knowingly placed the child with persons who
engaged in conduct which endangers the physical or emotional well-being
of the child;

(F) failed to support the child in accordance with the parent's ability
during a period of one year ending within six months of the date of the
filing of the petition;

(G) abandoned the child without identifying the child or furnishing
means of identification, and the child's identity cannot be ascertained
by the exercise of reasonable diligence;

(H) voluntarily, and with knowledge of the pregnancy, abandoned the
mother of the child beginning at a time during her pregnancy with the
child and continuing through the birth, failed to provide adequate
support or medical care for the mother during the period of abandonment
before the birth of the child, and remained apart from the child or
failed to support the child since the birth;

(I) contumaciously refused to submit to a reasonable and lawful order
of a court under Subchapter D, Chapter 261;

(J) been the major cause of:

(i) the failure of the child to be enrolled in school as required by
the Education Code; or

(ii) the child's absence from the child's home without the consent of
the parents or guardian for a substantial length of time or without the
intent to return;

(K) executed before or after the suit is filed an unrevoked or
irrevocable affidavit of relinquishment of parental rights as provided
by this chapter;

(L) been convicted or has been placed on community supervision,
including deferred adjudication community supervision, for being
criminally responsible for the death or serious injury of a child under
the following sections of the Penal Code or adjudicated under Title 3 for
conduct that caused the death or serious injury of a child and that would
constitute a violation of one of the following Penal Code sections:

(i) Section 19.02 (murder);

(ii) Section 19.03 (capital murder);

(iii) Section 19.04 (manslaughter);

(iv) Section 21.11 (indecency with a child);

(v) Section 22.01 (assault);

(vi) Section 22.011 (sexual assault);

(vii) Section 22.02 (aggravated assault);

(viii) Section 22.021 (aggravated sexual assault);

(ix) Section 22.04 (injury to a child, elderly individual, or disabled
individual);

(x) Section 22.041 (abandoning or endangering child);

(xi) Section 25.02 (prohibited sexual conduct);

(xii) Section 43.25 (sexual performance by a child);

(xiii) Section 43.26 (possession or promotion of child pornography);
and

(xiv) Section 21.02 (continuous sexual abuse of young child or
children);

(M) had his or her parent-child relationship terminated with respect to
another child based on a finding that the parent's conduct was in
violation of Paragraph (D) or (E) or substantially equivalent provisions
of the law of another state;

(N) constructively abandoned the child who has been in the permanent or
temporary managing conservatorship of the Department of Family and
Protective Services or an authorized agency for not less than six
months, and:

(i) the department or authorized agency has made reasonable efforts to
return the child to the parent;

(ii) the parent has not regularly visited or maintained significant
contact with the child; and

(iii) the parent has demonstrated an inability to provide the child
with a safe environment;

(O) failed to comply with the provisions of a court order that
specifically established the actions necessary for the parent to obtain
the return of the child who has been in the permanent or temporary
managing conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective
Services for not less than nine months as a result of the child's
removal from the parent under Chapter 262 for the abuse or neglect of
the child;

(P) used a controlled substance, as defined by Chapter 481, Health and
Safety Code, in a manner that endangered the health or safety of the
child, and:

(i) failed to complete a court-ordered substance abuse treatment
program; or

(ii) after completion of a court-ordered substance abuse treatment
program, continued to abuse a controlled substance;

(Q) knowingly engaged in criminal conduct that has resulted in the
parent's:

(i) conviction of an offense; and

(ii) confinement or imprisonment and inability to care for the child
for not less than two years from the date of filing the petition;

(R) been the cause of the child being born addicted to alcohol or a
controlled substance, other than a controlled substance legally obtained
by prescription, as defined by Section 261.001;

(S) voluntarily delivered the child to a designated emergency infant
care provider under Section 262.302 without expressing an intent to
return for the child; or

(T) been convicted of:

(i) the murder of the other parent of the child under Section 19.02
or 19.03, Penal Code, or under a law of another state, federal law, the
law of a foreign country, or the Uniform Code of Military Justice that
contains elements that are substantially similar to the elements of an
offense under Section 19.02 or 19.03, Penal Code;

(ii) criminal attempt under Section 15.01, Penal Code, or under a law
of another state, federal law, the law of a foreign country, or the
Uniform Code of Military Justice that contains elements that are
substantially similar to the elements of an offense under Section 15.01,
Penal Code, to commit the offense described by Subparagraph (i); or

(iii) criminal solicitation under Section 15.03, Penal Code, or under a
law of another state, federal law, the law of a foreign country, or the
Uniform Code of Military Justice that contains elements that are
substantially similar to the elements of an offense under Section 15.03,
Penal Code, of the offense described by Subparagraph (i); and

(2) that termination is in the best interest of the child.

§ 151.001 FAM. Rights and Duties of Parent

(a) A parent of a child has the following rights and duties:

(1) the right to have physical possession, to direct the moral and
religious training, and to designate the residence of the child;

(2) the duty of care, control, protection, and reasonable discipline of
the child;

(3) the duty to support the child, including providing the child with
clothing, food, shelter, medical and dental care, and education;

(4) the duty, except when a guardian of the child's estate has been
appointed, to manage the estate of the child, including the right as an
agent of the child to act in relation to the child's estate if the
child's action is required by a state, the United States, or a foreign
government;

(5) except as provided by Section 264.0111, the right to the services
and earnings of the child;

(6) the right to consent to the child's marriage, enlistment in the
armed forces of the United States, medical and dental care, and
psychiatric, psychological, and surgical treatment;

(7) the right to represent the child in legal action and to make other
decisions of substantial legal significance concerning the child;

(8) the right to receive and give receipt for payments for the support
of the child and to hold or disburse funds for the benefit of the child;

(9) the right to inherit from and through the child;

(10) the right to make decisions concerning the child's education; and

(11) any other right or duty existing between a parent and child by
virtue of law.

(b) The duty of a parent to support his or her child exists while the
child is an unemancipated minor and continues as long as the child is
fully enrolled in a secondary school in a program leading toward a high
school diploma and complies with attendance requirements described by
Section 154.002(a)(2).

(c) A parent who fails to discharge the duty of support is liable to a
person who provides necessaries to those to whom support is owed.

(d) The rights and duties of a parent are subject to:

(1) a court order affecting the rights and duties;

(2) an affidavit of relinquishment of parental rights; and

(3) an affidavit by the parent designating another person or agency to
act as managing conservator.

(e) Only the following persons may use corporal punishment for the
reasonable discipline of a child:

(1) a parent or grandparent of the child;

(2) a stepparent of the child who has the duty of control and
reasonable discipline of the child; and

(3) an individual who is a guardian of the child and who has the duty
of control and reasonable discipline of the child.

§ 22.041 PENAL Abandoning or Endangering Child

(a) In this section, "abandon" means to leave a child in any place
without providing reasonable and necessary care for the child, under
circumstances under which no reasonable, similarly situated adult would
leave a child of that age and ability.

(b) A person commits an offense if, having custody, care, or control
of a child younger than 15 years, he intentionally abandons the child in
any place under circumstances that expose the child to an unreasonable
risk of harm.

(c) A person commits an offense if he intentionally, knowingly,
recklessly, or with criminal negligence, by act or omission, engages in
conduct that places a child younger than 15 years in imminent danger of
death, bodily injury, or physical or mental impairment.

(c-1) For purposes of Subsection (c), it is presumed that a person
engaged in conduct that places a child in imminent danger of death,
bodily injury, or physical or mental impairment if:

(1) the person manufactured, possessed, or in any way introduced into
the body of any person the controlled substance methamphetamine in the
presence of the child;

(2) the person's conduct related to the proximity or accessibility of
the controlled substance methamphetamine to the child and an analysis of
a specimen of the child's blood, urine, or other bodily substance
indicates the presence of methamphetamine in the child's body; or

(3) the person injected, ingested, inhaled, or otherwise introduced a
controlled substance listed in Penalty Group 1, Section 481.102, Health
and Safety Code, into the human body when the person was not in lawful
possession of the substance as defined by Section 481.002(24) of that
code.

(d) Except as provided by Subsection (e), an offense under
Subsection (b) is:

(1) a state jail felony if the actor abandoned the child with intent
to return for the child; or

(2) a felony of the third degree if the actor abandoned the child
without intent to return for the child.

(e) An offense under Subsection (b) is a felony of the second degree
if the actor abandons the child under circumstances that a reasonable
person would believe would place the child in imminent danger of death,
bodily injury, or physical or mental impairment.

(f) An offense under Subsection (c) is a state jail felony.

(g) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (c) that the act
or omission enables the child to practice for or participate in an
organized athletic event and that appropriate safety equipment and
procedures are employed in the event.

(h) It is an exception to the application of this section that the
actor voluntarily delivered the child to a designated emergency infant
care provider under Section 262.302, Family Code.