Men that have discovered that their presumed child may not be their biological child often have to go to court to disprove paternity. This can be difficult to do if the court already accepted their paternity in a past court decision.
You may need an experienced family law attorney to help you in that situation.
How Long Does A Father Have To Establish Paternity In TX
What Causes Paternity Problems?
Paternity cases often involve situations where the mother and father are not married and have not formally acknowledged paternity in court or by signing an affidavit. Such cases can become more complicated in a situation where the father has been supporting the child informally.
But the father is protected and does not have to support the minor child. The father can choose to support the child or adopt the child. In situations where the father does not voluntarily offer support for the child, the father can request a DNA test just in case the mother wants to legally establish paternity.
When parents are going through a divorce and the divorce is not yet finalized, it may not be clear how to care for the children in terms of finances. The divorce court may issue a preliminary order to ensure that the best interests of the child are protected. This includes issuing orders for child custody, child support, and more.
The father can request a DNA test if he suspects that he is not the biological father. This will allow him to challenge any preliminary child support orders by requesting the court to declare the child is not a child of the marriage. But the father will lose any rights for visitation if he revokes his legal parentage.
Sometimes a parent finds out after divorce that their presumed child is not their biological child. A parent may find themselves in this situation if they never had any reason to suspect the child was not biologically theirs before the divorce. This is complicated by the fact that the court already issued a final decree which includes terms for child support, child custody, and other terms.
Is There A Statute Of Limitations On Establishing Paternity In Texas?
In this situation, the father may find out the child is not biologically theirs if requested to donate blood for the child or through some other medical testing. Going to court may lead to the paternity being overturned and the child support order may be terminated.
Sometimes the father does not pursue a paternity test after a court establishes his fatherhood. The father can still challenge the paternity finding if the paternity was established in their absence. But they only have two years to petition the court to overturn the paternity finding.
Courts rarely overturn paternity findings after the two-year deadline expires.
What You Should Consider When Trying To Establish Paternity
You need to consider the fact that after the paternity finding is overturned, you lose all the parental rights you had over the child. But you can always choose to adopt the child if you had already spent years believing you were the father. Being a parent is not just about DNA.
Always consult a family law attorney to guide you if you find yourself in a situation where you have to establish paternity.