In Texas, there are times when a parent must be located. For that, there is a program that the state will assist with in locating the parent. This is something that can be used for several reasons including the following: for the establishment of a court order regarding paternity, child support or medical support; to seek child support that has been ordered by the court or for the enforcement of a child custody order or visitation order.
The service that the state provides toward these ends will only provide information regarding the possibility of where the parent is. It does this by finding the last known address through available records and this will be forwarded to the person seeking the information. It cannot conduct an investigation or guarantee that the parent will be located.
There are only certain people who are eligible to apply for this service. For example, the custodial parent who has the child, or a person who is not the parent but has had the child in his or her physical custody for the previous six months may apply for this service. In addition, a managing conservator or legal guardian who has legal custody of the child, an agent representing the court or a judge who has jurisdiction of the case if it has to do with paternity or child support, a court that has the jurisdiction to move forward with enforcing a custody or visitation order or a legal representative for the children who are in need of support or paternity may apply for this service.
There are many services that the state will provide to help a parent or guardian with any issue that can arise when they are caring for a child. One of those is the location services to find a parent. It is in the best interests of the child to locate a parent who is supposed to be paying child support, to locate a parent who is the focus in a child custody dispute or to locate a parent in order to enforce a visitation order. No matter the situation, it is imperative to seek legal help when dealing with child support, child custody, paternity or any other issue that can crop up over the course of a case.
Source: texasattonreygeneral.gov, “Locate a parent,” accessed on May 3, 2016