pjc-family-2024-lib

T ERMINATION OF P ARENT -C HILD R ELATIONSHIP

PJC 218.2

held earlier than 180 days after suit is filed; that factor is a question of law for the court.

When to use. The foregoing questions are for use if termination of the parent child relationship is sought under the provisions of Tex. Fam. Code § 161.003. A peti tion to terminate parental rights under this provision may be brought only by the Department of Family and Protective Services.

Include instructions from PJC 218.1A. In every case in which the ground of ter mination in PJC 218.2 is submitted, the instructions at PJC 218.1A must be included.

Form of submission. Tex. R. Civ. P. 277, as amended effective May 1, 2020, requires separate jury questions for each parent and each child on (1) each individual statutory ground for termination of the parent-child relationship and (2) whether termi nation of the parent-child relationship is in the best interest of the child. It further requires the best-interest question to be predicated on an affirmative finding of at least one termination ground. Because all the facts listed in Tex. Fam. Code §161.003(a) must be found for termination to be ordered under that statute, the best-interest ques tion in this series is predicated on a “Yes” answer to each inquiry contained in Ques tion 1.

If termination of the parental rights of both parents is sought, PJC 218.2B should be repeated for each parent. Findings of grounds for termination for the individual parent whose rights are terminated are required. See Tex. R. Civ. P. 277; see also Tex. Fam. Code § 161.206.

The supreme court’s order amending rule 277 explicitly supersedes Texas Depart ment of Human Services v. E.B. , 802 S.W.2d 647 (Tex. 1990), in which the court had approved the broad-form submission of whether parental rights should be terminated. See Texas Supreme Court, Order Amending Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 277 , Misc. Docket No. 20-9008 (Jan. 8, 2020), 83 Tex. B.J. 104 (2020); Texas Supreme Court, Final Approval of Amendments to Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 277 , Misc. Docket No. 20-9056 (Apr. 14, 2020), 83 Tex. B.J. 402 (2020).

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