Texas Fathers Rights Legal Questions

The only way to force you into paternity testing is for the other man to file a suit to determine paternity of the child.  He would then request that the court order paternity testing.   In the event he is found to be the father, then he could be named Dad and have the rights of a parent and the duties of a parent. That means a possession schedule and order to pay child support.  If he is not found to be the father, then his suit is ended. In general, the time limit to bring a suit challenging your husband's paternity is four years after the child's birth.  ... Read More

There must be court orders that give custody to your husband.  Review the existing court orders to see if they establish your husband as father.  If they do, then he should be able to apply to the Texas State Department of Health- Burequ of Vital Statistics to add him as the father to the birth certificate.  If the current orders do not establish him as father, then he will need to file something to ask the court to establish him as the father and to expressly order that he be added to birth certificate as father.   The mother may need to participate or cooperate with the application to the state for the birth certificate.  She will have to be served with the law suit if a law suit is necessary.  Start from the address for her that is listed in the most recent court order. ... Read More

If you are not married to the father, you would first have to establish paternity through a DNA test. If he does not respond to you and fails to answer a lawsuit if you or the AG filed, you would likely get a default judgment for child support against him. He would also be declared the legal father by default. The court would not order him to have a possession schedule if he doesn't show up. However, he could try at some point to establish a visitation schedule with the child. If he's a drug addict he would likely only get some type of supervised visitation depending on what county you're in.... Read More

Hey Andrew, We can certainly try to help you evaluate your options. We are based in New York we are currently not taking any more court appearances from Texas and only offering PRO SE services. Feel free to give us a call or text for a free 15-minute consultation. Thank You. Toll-Free 1-877-866-8665 Ahsan Syed, Case Manager.... Read More

Did the court order require you to pick up the child or is it something that the children mother started to do with you? You are not liable to do that unless you both feel to do so without a court order. If you can manage to pick them up, you can use this as a quality time spent on going or coming from school. If you really can't pick them up because you need rest, then you should simply be straightforward. I highly doubt that she will want to go to court just to get you to pick the kids up from school. If that does happen, contact me and we will work to resolve things. Above answer and comments to questions are for general purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or establishes an attorney-client relationship without a signed retainer. Please reach out to an attorney you are comfortable with working and discussing your case in more details. If you can not afford a private attorney, you may be eligible for a Pro Bono lawyer provided by some courts and if not, feel free to ask about our affordable payment plans.... Read More