Children & Family Law Forms

The library is unable to determine what form you should use and we cannot assist you in filling out any form.

If you need information on Texas child custody and support laws and resources that help explain the law, please see our Child Custody and Support research guide.

Online Forms

Establish Custody, Visitation, or Child Support

Custody (TexasLawHelp.org)
Ask the court for custody, visitation, child support, and medical support orders when you are not getting divorced and paternity has been established. Also known as a suit affecting the parent-child relationship (SAPCR). Forms and information are provided for both parents and non-parents.
Service by Publication (TexasLawHelp.org)
Tell the judge that you want to serve the other parent by publishing in a newspaper because you cannot find the other parent.
Child Support Forms from the Texas Attorney General's Office
The Texas Attorney General's office provides some legal forms related to child support on their website including complaint forms and income withholding forms.
Answer — Family Law Case (TexasLawHelp.org)
Respond to a law suit in a family law case. Forms are available for custody (SAPCR), divorce, paternity, modification, and name change situations.

Appear in Court Remotely

I want to appear in family court remotely (TexasLawHelp.org)
Ask the court to appear at your family law hearing remotely, by video or over the phone.

Paternity

Paternity (TexasLawHelp.org)
Ask for a paternity order that says who is (or who is not) a child’s legal father.
Paternity and Parentage Forms (Texas Vital Statistics)
Forms related to establishing paternity including amending a child's birth certificate base on newly established paternity.
Termination of Parental Rights — Mistaken Paternity (Texas Law Help)
This guide from Texas Law Help includes forms and instructions for filing a case to terminate parental rights based on mistaken paternity.

Authorization Agreements, etc.

Temporary Authorization for Care of Minor Child (TexasLawHelp.org)
Request temporary authorization for the care of a minor child by a nonparent caregiver if you do not have written authorization from the child's parent, guardian, or conservator.
Consent to Medical Treatment by Non-Parent (TexasLawHelp.org)
Allow certain non-parents to consent to medical, dental, psychological, and surgical treatment of a child.
Authorization Agreement for Nonparent Adult Caregiver (TexasLawHelp.org)
Ask a judge for permission to sign a written Authorization Agreement for Nonparent Adult Caregiver.
Authorization Agreement for Non-Parent Relative — Form 2638 (Department of Family and Protective Services)
Appoint a caregiver for your child. Allows parents and other specified relatives to permit a designated adult to take certain actions and obtain services on behalf of the child. For more information see TexasLawHelp.org's FAQs on this topic.

Modify Custody, Visitation, or Child Support

Modification Kit (TexasLawHelp.org)
Request to change a court order for child custody, visitation, and support.
Modification Response Kit (TexasLawHelp.org)
Respond to a request to change a court order for child custody, support, or visitation filed by the other parent.
Stop Child Support Withholding (TexasLawHelp.org)
Stop income withholding for child support when the child support obligation has ended or the parties have reached an agreement for child support to stop and the parties have filed a modification case.
Child Support Administrative Review (Texas Attorney General's Office)
Contest a claim of past-due child support and request a review of your case or request an Administrative Review hearing to resolve disputed issues concerning distribution of child support payments.

Enforce Visitation or Possession

I want to file a Motion to Enforce Visitation. (Texas Law Help)
Enforce your visitation rights through the courts.
Habeas Corpus Guide (Texas Law Help)
This guide includes sample forms and instructions for a habeas corpus proceeding in order to enforce a superior right of possession to a child.

Temporary Restraining Orders & Injunctions in Child Custody Emergencies

Temporary Restraining Orders, Injunctions, and Orders in Child Custody Emergencies Toolkit (TexasLawHelp.org)
This toolkit from Texas Law Help contains instructions and forms for getting a temporary restraining order, temporary injunction, and temporary orders in a child custody emergency.

Adoption

Adult Adoption (TexasLawHelp.org)
Forms and instructions for adopting an adult person in Texas.

Register an Out-of-State Custody Order

Register an out-of-state custody order in Texas (TexasLawHelp.org)
This guide includes forms and instructions for a letter and affidavit to request that the court register an out-of-state custody order in Texas.

Termination of Parental Rights

Note: We are often asked for forms for filing a general termination of parental rights case. We are not aware of general online forms for this procedure, but we do have drafting guides with form templates and instructions in our collection. Please see the Termination of Parental Rights guide for more info.

Termination of Parental Rights — Mistaken Paternity (Texas Law Help)
This guide from Texas Law Help includes forms and instructions for filing a case to terminate parental rights based on mistaken paternity.
Reinstatement of Parental Rights (Texas Law Help)
Ask the court to reinstate your parental rights after they were terminated by the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS).

Cyberbullying

Sworn Application & Petition to Stop Cyberbullying
Ask the court to issue a restraining order or injunction to stop a person from cyberbullying a person under the age of 18.

E-Books from the Texas State Law Library

Many of the e-books available through the State Law Library contain forms or drafting guides. To access, first get a free library account online with the Texas State Law Library.

Our librarians recommend:

Texas family law practice and procedure
Covers: conservatorship, guardianship, premarital agreements, divorce, custody, spousal support, temporary orders, termination of parental rights, adoption, and more. Includes drafting guides for legal forms.
Building a parenting agreement that works : child custody agreements step-by-step
Nolo’s guide to creating a co-parenting agreement provides information, worksheets, and a fill-in-the-blank parenting agreement to assist divorcing couples in making a fair and lasting child custody agreement. The mediation-based strategies contained in this book will help minimize conflict in resolving issues such as health care, education, and living arrangements.
101 law forms for personal use
This e-book from Nolo Press offers a variety of downloadable, editable legal forms for everyday situations such as borrowing & lending money, delegating authority to care for children or pets, buying & selling property, handling personal finances, and many more common situations.

Other Places to Find Forms

Court websites

Check your county or municipality's website for any available legal forms. Some county websites or court websites upload commonly used legal forms as a public service. For example, the Dallas County District Clerk and the Harris County District Clerk provide downloadable legal forms on their websites.
To find court websites and contact information view the Texas judicial directory, search the judicial directory database, or view the interactive map of judicial districts.

Books or e-books from the State Law Library or a law library near you

The State Law Library's digital collection has e-books that can be accessed from home. Many of these e-books contain legal forms or drafting guides. To access, first get a free library account online with the Texas State Law Library.
Visit a law library near you to search for books with legal forms and drafting guides.
The State Law Library has books with legal forms and drafting guides to check out at our location in Austin. Search for books in our library catalog or view our list of recommended titles.

An attorney

An attorney could create a custom form for you. If you are not able to find the legal form you are looking for, one may not exist in a pre-prepared format and you may need to seek help from a lawyer.
To find an attorney, see the resources on our Legal Help guide.

Commonly Requested Legal Forms