Establishing paternity is a crucial step in protecting a father’s legal rights and ensuring the well-being of a child. At Cutrer Law Group, our family law attorneys understand the challenges fathers face when navigating paternity issues and are here to provide guidance. Whether addressing questions of custody, visitation, or support, we help fathers understand their rights and the legal steps needed to resolve paternity matters effectively.

What is Paternity?

Paternity is the legal acknowledgment of the rights and responsibilities that accompany being a father to a child. Paternity can be established in several ways or automatically if the child’s parents are married. Children born to unwed parents do not have a legal father until paternity is officially established under Texas law.

What are the Different Legal Types of Paternity?

There are several different terms associated with legal definitions for fathers that are important to know:

  • Acknowledged father: This is the man who has accepted the role and is acting as a father to a child. He has voluntarily acknowledged paternity through the Vital Statistics office and has the rights and responsibilities of a father.
  • Adjudicated father: This type of father has been established by a court of law.
  • Alleged father: This man claims or is claimed to be the father of a child but has yet to establish paternity.
  • Biological father: This father shares DNA with the child. Even if he is not married to the child’s mother, he must still establish paternity at birth.
  • Legal father: This type of father has already established legal paternity and is responsible for the rights and obligations associated with raising a father.
  • Presumed father: This man has legal rights to a child because he was either married to the mother at the time of birth, was married to the mother within 300 days of the birth, or lived with the child for the first two years of the child’s life and recognizes the child as his own.

How Can Marriage Establish Paternity?

In the State of Texas, a man is presumed to be the father of a child when:

  • The man is currently married to the child’s mother.
  • The man was married to the child’s mother 300 days prior to birth.
  • The man lived with the child and recognized the child as his own for the first two years of the child’s life.

If a child’s mother and father choose to get married after the birth, there are a few additional steps required to establish paternity, such as:

  • The declaration of paternity must be filed with the vital statistics unity.
  • The father must be named on the birth certificate.
  • The father promises to support the child as his own.
  • The father lives with the child in the same home for the first two years of the child’s life and recognizes the child as his own to others.

How Can Paternity be Voluntarily Established?

There are a couple of ways where paternity can be voluntarily established. The easiest way is by signing an Acknowledgement of Paternity at the time of the child’s birth. Both parents must sign this form. If the mother is married to someone other than the child’s father, then her husband must file a denial of paternity.

If the parents are not married, it is especially important to establish paternity because the child will not have a recognized father otherwise. Also, the father will not have legal rights to the child until paternity is established. 

If there is a question of paternity, the Acknowledgement of Paternity should not be signed by the mother or the father. It can be rescinded up to 60 days after it has been filed. The petition can be completed at a hospital at the time of birth, a doctor’s office that sees the child, a child support office, or a local birth registrar. 

A valid Acknowledgement of Paternity must:

  • Be filed at the Vital Statistics Unit
  • Be signed under penalty of perjury
  • List the name of any other presumed father of the child
  • Deny the existence of an acknowledged father
  • Deny the existence of an adjudicated father
  • State if genetic testing has been completed that confirms the petitioner is the father

The Texas Paternity Registry

The Paternity Registry is available through the Texas Vital Statistics Unit so that a man may register and assume responsibility for a child if:

  • He is the father of the child.
  • He wishes to speed up the adoption of a child whose biological father refuses or is unwilling to acknowledge responsibility for the child.

The primary purpose of the registry is to terminate the rights of an unknown father by asserting paternity or to terminate the rights of a father who cannot be located despite multiple attempts.

How Can Paternity Be Involuntarily Established?

If the mother and father disagree about parentage, then a family court may order DNA testing to confirm a biological relation. If testing confirms paternity, then paternity will be officially finalized. Child support, visitation, and custody issues are also handled at this time.

In instances where a child has a presumed father besides the man who is petitioning to establish paternity, then there is a four-year time frame from the date of the child’s birth. Exceptions to this time frame include:

  • The presumed father and the mother were not living together or did not have sexual relations during the period of likely conception.
  • The presumed father was falsely led to believe himself to be the child’s father.

There are only certain people who are able to file a suit for paternity, and they are:

  • The child’s mother
  • The child’s legal father
  • A man claiming to be the biological father
  • The child or representative of the child
  • A government agency

Do I Need an Attorney?

If you have questions regarding your paternity, you need legal help you can count on. Call Cutrer Law Group today at 817-854-1651 or fill out a contact form for a free consultation.