child support/paternity/father's rights

[just_henry19]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas
i recently found out that i have a daughter with my former high school sweetheart. we were seperated for sometime before i found her again and then found out about the daughter, The situation is that the guy she was with at the time she had the baby signed the birth certificate and now he took her away for her mother. he is now taking her to court for child support, and he also told everyone that he is the biological father of the daughter and so the mother wants a paternity test done on him to prove that he is not the father. is she allowed to ask for that and if so, if he is proven he is not the father and i am, what rights do i have? and will we bealbe to get out daughter back, if you need more information please ask and i will explain more.

 

[sometwo]

How old is the child now?

 

[just_henry19]

the child is now 7 years old

 

[ecmst12]

Unlikely. It is most likely way too late for the paternity to be contested. Legal daddy will remain legal daddy regardless of biology.

 

[TheGeekess]

Too late, that boat has sailed.

Mom can't change who Dad is.

You are nobody legally to the child in this situation.

(a) Except as otherwise provided by Subsection (b), a proceeding brought by a presumed father, the mother, or another individual to adjudicate the parentage of a child having a presumed father shall be commenced not later than the fourth anniversary of the date of the birth of the child.

(b) A proceeding seeking to disprove the father-child relationship between a child and the child's presumed father may be maintained at any time if the court determines that:

(1) the presumed father and the mother of the child did not live together or engage in sexual intercourse with each other during the probable time of conception; and

(2) the presumed father never represented to others that the child was his own.

Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 821, Sec. 1.01, eff. June 14, 2001. Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1248, Sec. 4, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.

TEX FA. CODE ANN. § 160.607 : Texas Statutes - Section 160.607: TIME LIMITATION: CHILD HAVING PRESUMED FATHER

 

[LdiJ]

Wait a minute folks.

The OP has JUST found out that he has a child. I do not think that we can say with any certainty that HE cannot file to try to establish HIS paternity.

Mom cannot file, and legal dad may not be able to file, but the OP is an innocent party who just found out he has a child. He may very well be able to file.

He needs to consult an attorney in the area with jurisdiction.

 

[Ohiogal]

Wait a minute folks.

The OP has JUST found out that he has a child. I do not think that we can say with any certainty that HE cannot file to try to establish HIS paternity.

Mom cannot file, and legal dad may not be able to file, but the OP is an innocent party who just found out he has a child. He may very well be able to file.

He needs to consult an attorney in the area with jurisdiction.

According to the law he had until the child turned 4. The child is NOW 7. He knew he had sex with mom. he knew or should have known that pregnancy was a possibility because of sex. Re-read the law that The Geekess posted:

a) Except as otherwise provided by Subsection (b), a proceeding brought by a presumed father, the mother, or another individual to adjudicate the parentage of a child having a presumed father shall be commenced not later than the fourth anniversary of the date of the birth of the child.

(b) does not apply because OP is NOT the presumed father -- the presumed father is the one who signed the AOP. And the presumed father has represented to others -- as has mother -- that he is the actual father. There has been at least one court case that happened (where legal dad won custody of the child) during which paternity was not overturned.

 

[TheGeekess]

Wait a minute folks.

The OP has JUST found out that he has a child. I do not think that we can say with any certainty that HE cannot file to try to establish HIS paternity.

Mom cannot file, and legal dad may not be able to file, but the OP is an innocent party who just found out he has a child. He may very well be able to file.

He needs to consult an attorney in the area with jurisdiction.

State law says 4 years after birth, LDiJ. Or did you not see the Texas statute I posted?

 

[nextwife]

signed the birth certificate and now he took her away for her mother. he is now taking her to court for child support, and he also told everyone that he is the biological father of the daughter and so the mother wants a paternity test done on him to prove that he is not the father.

Isn't it lovelyy how mom didn't care at all about inserting someone else in to the dad role - UNTIL she was faced with a custody challenge and child support?

She is only looking up the poster so she could do an end run around legal dad's CS and custody filing. Else she wouldn't have waited seven years.

 

[LdiJ]

State law says 4 years after birth, LDiJ. Or did you not see the Texas statute I posted?

I did. I am just not sure that its going to apply to a biological father who just found out that the child exists. That is why I am advising the OP to consult an attorney.

I don't have the time or resources to research if there is any case law that applies. However, it wouldn't surprise me if there was in this age of DNA.

Laws often say one thing, but case law often allows a bit of a variation from the way that a law reads on the books.

 

[TheGeekess]

I did. I am just not sure that its going to apply to a biological father who just found out that the child exists. That is why I am advising the OP to consult an attorney.

I don't have the time or resources to research if there is any case law that applies. However, it wouldn't surprise me if there was in this age of DNA.

Laws often say one thing, but case law often allows a bit of a variation from the way that a law reads on the books.

Is there a statute of limitations on paternity suits?

If there is no legal father:

There is no technical time limit for filing a paternity suit. If the child is a legal adult, the adult child must file the suit.

If there is a legal father:

A paternity suit must be filed before the child’s fourth birthday unless it is discovered by a court that the presumed parents were not engaged in sexual intercourse during the time period of conception, and the presumed father did not publicly declare the child was his.

If an Acknowledgement or Denial of paternity is signed, then there is a time limit of 60 days in order to file a case. If it can be proved that the party signed the form because of duress, fraud or a material mistake of fact, then the time limit is extended to four years.

Frequently Asked Questions about Texas Paternity Law

A.
The Current State of Paternity Disestablishment in Texas
In Texas, a father establishes parentage of a child by virtue of being married to the child’s mother at the time the child was conceived, by signing a valid acknowledgment of paternity, by adopting the child, by virtue of being adjudicated the father of the child, or by consenting assisted reproduction by his wife resulting in the birth of a child. Texas law on paternity disestablishment currently imposes a four year statute of limitations for suits brought to
adjudicate the parentage of a child with a presumed, acknowledged, or adjudicated father. There is no such statute of limitations where a child has no presumed father. Further, a Court has the authority to deny genetic testing if the conduct of the mother and presumed father estops the party from disestablishing parentage.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=8&ved=0CD0QFjAH&url=http://www.utcle.org/eLibrary/preview.php?asset_file_id=21135&ei=-IzVS8LBHJLK8ASrnL2zDg&usg=AFQjCNHv4WxarKBh3JFs8vJ_bg31M4GKWQ&sig2=f1ZINlTquv3xB964KjlRBw

Challenge after Expiration of Period for Rescission [Texas Family Code § 160.308]

(a) After the period for rescission under Section 160.307 has expired, a signatory of an acknowledgment of paternity or denial of paternity may commence a proceeding to challenge the acknowledgment or denial only on the basis of fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact. The proceeding must be commenced before the fourth anniversary of the date the acknowledgment or denial is filed with the bureau of vital statistics.

(b) A party challenging an acknowledgment of paternity or denial of paternity has the burden of proof.

(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a collateral attack on an acknowledgment of paternity signed under this chapter may not be maintained after the fourth anniversary of the date the acknowledgment of paternity is filed with the bureau of vital statistics.

(d) For purposes of Subsection (a), evidence that, based on genetic testing, the man who is the signatory of an acknowledgment of paternity is not rebuttably identified as the father of a child in accordance with Section 160.505 constitutes a material mistake of fact.

Texas Attorney General

 

[LdiJ]

So everybody is saying that this father should simply give up and NOT consult a local attorney, based on the advice of an internet message forum?

I hope that you would be suggesting that.

 

[Silverplum]

So everybody is saying that this father should simply give up and NOT consult a local attorney, based on the advice of an internet message forum?

I hope that you would be suggesting that.

Naw. They're saying it based upon the LAW of the applicable state.

The Geekess posted the applicable LAW. It's all those word-thingies in her posts in this thread.

 

[CourtClerk]

It's all those word-thingies in her posts in this thread.

***dead***

 

[Antigone*]

So everybody is saying that this father should simply give up and NOT consult a local attorney, based on the advice of an internet message forum?

I hope that you would be suggesting that.

Mom SAYS he's dad. There is no proof that he is. Mom's motive in this case is very self-serving.