Opinion ID: 1669823
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: waiver of citation

Text: Brown asserts Art. 2224, Tex.Rev.Civ. Stat.Ann. (Vernon 1971) and Tex.R.Civ.Pro. 119 prohibits effective waiver of citation executed prior to suit. Children's Services contends that Brown waived the right to issuance, service, and return of all process in the suit for termination of the parent-child relationship. By her affidavit, she agreed that (1) the termination would all be done without further notice to her, (2) her affidavit made this termination possible, and (3) a lawsuit would be promptly filed to terminate her parental rights forever. Brown's assertion would be correct but for the sole exception created by the Legislature that specifically applies in this instance. Tex.Fam.Code Ann. 11.09(a)(7) (Vernon Supp. 1980-1981) provides in part: (a) ... The following persons are entitled to service of citation on the filing of a petition in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship: (7) Each parent as to whom the parent-child relationship has not been terminated or process has not been waived under § 15.03(c)(2) of this Code; .... Looking to § 15.03(c)(2), it provides for waiver of citation within the affidavit of relinquishment if the suit for termination of relationship is brought under § 15.02(1)(K). Section 15.02(1)(K) is the provision creating the right to termination when the parent has executed an affidavit of relinquishment either before or after the suit is filed. Tex.Fam.Code Ann. § 15.02, § 15.03 (Vernon Supp. 1980-81). These provisions have been upheld as a permissible exception to the prohibition against pre-suit waiver. Rogers v. Searle, 533 S.W.2d 433 (Tex.Civ.App.Corpus Christi) rev'd on other grounds, 544 S.W.2d 114 (Tex.1976) and Myers v. Patton, 543 S.W.2d 22 (Tex.Civ.App.Texarkana 1976, no writ). Brown also asserts these sections of the Family Code are unconstitutional; she claims her due process rights have been steamrolled by this pre-suit waiver. To the contrary, this general prohibition in Texas jurisprudence against pre-suit waiver, is not a mandate of either the Texas Constitution or the Constitution of the United States. The constitutionality of this type provision was approved by the U. S. Supreme Court in National Equipment Rental Ltd. v. Szukhent, 375 U.S. 311, 84 S.Ct. 411, 11 L.Ed.2d 354 (1964), which held that a party may agree in advance to submit to a jurisdiction of a given court, to permit service by the opposing party, or even waive service altogether. The criteria for constitutionality set out by the U. S. Supreme Court is: the party voluntarily, intelligently, and knowingly waived their rights to notice and hearing with full awareness of the legal consequences. D. H. Overmyer Co. v. Frick Co., 405 U.S. 174, 92 S.Ct. 775, 31 L.Ed.2d 124 (1972). In this cause, Brown voluntarily executed the affidavit in question in the presence of two witnesses, before a notary. The affidavit clearly sets out she is relinquishing all parental rights, that suit will be filed to terminate her rights, that she will not be further informed about the suit, and that this act is irrevocable. Certainly this Court recognizes the parent-child relationship as a basic civil right due a high degree of protection. In the Interest of G.M., 596 S.W.2d 846 (Tex.1980). However, when a parent voluntarily terminates this parent-child bond, the best interests of the child become paramount. Once that child has been surrendered to a licensed agency for adoption, the safety, education, care and protection of the child, not the contentment or welfare of the parent, is of utmost importance. Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Galveston, Inc. v. Harper, 161 Tex. 21, 337 S.W.2d 111 (1960). Children voluntarily given up in compliance with the Family Code, as was done in this case, cannot be snapped back at the whim of the parent. By these provisions in the Family Code the Legislature was seeking some small amount of security and stability for children placed in this position.