Paternity
Paternity suits in Texas are legal actions used to determine the biological father of a child, usually through DNA testing. These suits are essential for establishing identity of a child’s father, which impacts child support, child custody, conservatorship, and other parental rights and responsibilities. If paternity is never established, fathers have no legal rights to their child, and mothers cannot legally secure child support from fathers. Establishing paternity also helps children as it solidifies a child’s rights and privileges including inheritance, medical benefits, and social security benefits. In Texas, there are three ways to establish paternity – acknowledgement, presumption, or by the court. Divorce involves the legal dissolution of a marriage, and it can be a complex and emotionally challenging process for your entire family. Whether your divorce was initiated by you, your spouse, or a decision you made together, having an experienced divorce attorney is the best decision you can make to ensure you understand your options and how to best protect you and your family’s interests going forward.
Contact Crozier Family Law at (972) 665-8113 to discuss how our experience can help you navigate your paternity concerns.
Acknowledgment of Paternity
Paternity is established by acknowledgement when the parents of a child sign a sworn Acknowledgment of Paternity that a man is the biological father of the child and file it with the Vital Statistics Section with Texas Health and Human Services department. Parents often do this if they are not married at the time the child is born. Paternity may also be established by acknowledgement if the father asserts paternity and files his assertion with the Vital Statistics Section, is voluntarily named as the child’s father on the child’s birth certificate, or promises in a record to support the child as his own.
Presumption of Paternity
Paternity is established by presumption when a child is born to a married couple during the marriage or if a man continuously resides in the same household with the child and represents himself as the child’s father for the first two years of the child’s life. Paternity is also established by presumption if a child is born to two people who were married within the 300 days following the date of divorce, annulment, or death of a party. The presumption of paternity carries a lot of legal weight, but it can be challenged under certain circumstances.
Court Ordered Paternity
Paternity can be established by order of the court if the mother of the child, or the man who believes himself to be the father of the child initiates a paternity action and seeks genetic testing to establish paternity. The child, through a guardian or legal representative may bring a paternity suit as well as a government agency, such as the Texas Office of Attorney general.
Challenging or Denying Paternity
If a man who is presumed to be the father of a child wants to deny his paternity, then he may complete a Denial of Paternity and file it with the Vital Statistics Section. Typically, a mother and the true biological father will also need to file an Acknowledgment of Paternity and file it with the Vital Statistics Section. A man may also challenge his paternity by petitioning the court for genetic testing. A man who signed an Acknowledgement of Paternity may also file a Recission of Acknowledgment of Paternity within 60 days of execution, under certain circumstances the recission may be valid if after 60 days. If a mother wants to deny that a presumed father is the father of the child, she may file a Denial of Registrant’s Paternity. After a certain period of time courts may be reluctant to disestablish paternity, especially if a man has acted as the child’s father for an extended period of time. Working with an experienced family law attorney is crucial when navigated the complex legal issues concerning paternity.