Paternity Tests: When Do You Need One?

A showing of paternity establishes the identity of the father of a child and gives the child and father certain legal rights. In Texas, the father of a child has no rights or responsibilities with regard to a child unless there is an establishment of paternity. Mothers are presumed to be mothers at birth. But fathers do not receive the same presumption in the absence of being married.

In Texas, there are two ways to establish parentage of the father:

• By signing a voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity
• By acquiring an order of the court

For an unmarried father to be legally entitled to rights such as custody and visitation, the father may need to go to court. Once a father is established as the parent of a child, the father has rights. But he also has a responsibility to support the child and pay for medical coverage. In addition, an unmarried father who wishes to avoid the adoption of a child by another party needs to act quickly to establish paternity.

When parents are married at the time of the birth of a child, the law assumes that the husband is the father of the child. Should a husband believe he is not the father, he can ask for paternity testing which can be used to exclude him as the father.

A knowledgeable family law attorney can guide you through the process of establishing paternity or challenging it.