context: "But this did not have the effect of nullifying the 1986 paternity judgment, which declared John to be the father; furthermore, it did not vest paternity in Randy. In regard to paternity and as to the parental relationship between John and the child, the name change was meaningless.
citation_a.signal: see also
citation_a.parenthetical: a court may not be handcuffed in the exercise of its duty to act in the best interests of a child by any agreement between the parents
citation_a.sentence: See also Stancill v. Stancill, 286 Md. 530, 535, 408 A.2d 1030 (1979) (a court may not be handcuffed in the exercise of its duty to act in the best interests of a child by any agreement between the parents).
citation_b.signal: see
citation_b.parenthetical: a court has no authority to terminate a parental relationship other than through a decree of adoption or guardianship
citation_b.sentence: See Carroll County v. Edelmann, 320 Md. 150, 175-76, 577 A.2d 14 (1990) (a court has no authority to terminate a parental relationship other than through a decree of adoption or guardianship). Even if it was the mother’s intent to terminate John’s child support payments by changing her child’s name, the result would be no different. In Stambaugh v. Child Support Admin., 323 Md. 106, 591 A.2d 501 (1991), we made clear that one parent may not waive his or her child’s right to support from the other parent.