A mother and a man who claims to be the father of a child conceived as the result of sexual intercourse with the mother may sign an acknowledgment of paternity with the intent to establish the man's paternity. Unless the acknowledgment is rescinded or challenged, a valid acknowledgment of paternity filed with the bureau of vital statistics is the equivalent of an adjudication of the child's paternity and confers on the acknowledged father all rights and duties of a parent.
When both acknowledgment of paternity and denial of paternity are necessary. If the acknowledgment states that the child has a presumed father, a denial of paternity signed or otherwise authenticated by the presumed father must be filed with the bureau of vital statistics. Otherwise, the acknowledgment is void. An acknowledgment of paternity and a denial of paternity may be contained in a single document or in different documents and may be filed separately or simultaneously. If the acknowledgment and denial are both necessary, neither document is valid until both documents are filed. An acknowledgment of paternity takes effect either on the date the child is born or on the date the document is filed with the bureau of vital statistics, whichever is later. The bureau of vital statistics may not charge a fee for filing an acknowledgment of paternity
An acknowledgment of paternity must be in a record. That is, it must be inscribed on a tangible medium or stored in an electronic or other medium that is retrievable in a perceivable form. An acknowledgment must be signed, or otherwise authenticated, under penalty of perjury by the mother and the man seeking to establish paternity. An acknowledgment of paternity or a denial of paternity may be signed before the child's birth. A minor may sign an acknowledgment of paternity.
A presumed father may sign or otherwise authenticate an acknowledgment of paternity. An acknowledgment of paternity must state that the child whose paternity is being acknowledged either:
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Does not have a presumed father, or
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Has a presumed father whose full name is stated.
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An acknowledgment of paternity must also state:
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That the child does not have another acknowledged or adjudicated father.
Whether there has been genetic testing and, if so, that the acknowledging man's claim of paternity is consistent with the results of the testing.
That the signatories understand that the acknowledgment is the equivalent of a judicial adjudication of the child's paternity and that a challenge to the acknowledgment is permitted only under limited circumstances and is barred after four years.
An acknowledgment of paternity is void if it:
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States that another man is a presumed father of the child, unless a denial of paternity signed or otherwise authenticated by the presumed father is filed with the bureau of vital statistics;
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States that another man is an acknowledged or adjudicated father of the child; or
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Falsely denies the existence of a presumed, acknowledged, or adjudicated father of the child.
A Texas court must give full faith and credit to an acknowledgment of paternity that is effective in another state if the acknowledgment has been signed and is otherwise in compliance with the other state's law. Also, the bureau of vital statistics is required to prescribe a form for the acknowledgment of paternity.
A presumed father of a child may sign a denial of his paternity. If an acknowledgment of paternity states that the child has a presumed father, a denial of paternity signed or otherwise authenticated by the presumed father must be filed with the bureau of vital statistics. Unless the denial of paternity has been rescinded or challenged, a valid denial of paternity filed with the bureau of vital statistics in conjunction with a valid acknowledgment of paternity is the equivalent of an adjudication of the nonpaternity of the presumed father and discharges the presumed father from all rights and duties of a parent.
When both acknowledgment of paternity and denial of paternity are necessary. If the acknowledgment states that the child has a presumed father, a denial of paternity signed or otherwise authenticated by the presumed father must be filed with the bureau of vital statistics. An acknowledgment of paternity and a denial of paternity may be contained in a single document or in different documents and may be filed separately or simultaneously. If the acknowledgment and denial are both necessary, neither document is valid until both documents are filed.
A denial of paternity takes effect either on the date the child is born or on the date the document is filed with the bureau of vital statistics, whichever is later. The bureau of vital statistics may not charge a fee for filing a denial of paternity. The bureau of vital statistics is required to prescribe a form for the denial of paternity.
A denial of paternity is valid only if:
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An acknowledgment of paternity signed or otherwise authenticated by another man is filed with the bureau of vital statistics;
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The denial is in a tangible or electronic form;
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The denial is signed or otherwise authenticated under penalty of perjury;
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The presumed father has not previously acknowledged paternity of the child, unless the previous acknowledgment has been rescinded or successfully challenged; and
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The presumed father has not previously been adjudicated to be the child's father.
A denial of paternity may be signed before the child's birth. A denial of paternity may be signed by a minor. A Texas court must give full faith and credit to a denial of paternity that is effective in another state if the denial has been signed and is otherwise in compliance with the other state's law. A person who has signed an acknowledgment of paternity or a denial of paternity may rescind it by commencing a proceeding to rescind. The proceeding is conducted in the same manner as a proceeding to adjudicate parentage. A proceeding to rescind must be brought before the earlier of (1) The 60th day after the effective date of the acknowledgment or denial (that is, the date of the child's birth or the date the document was filed with the bureau, whichever is later); or (2) The date of the first hearing in a proceeding to which the signatory is a party before a court to adjudicate an issue relating to the child, including a proceeding that establishes child support.
Each signatory to an acknowledgment of paternity and any related denial of paternity must be made a party to a proceeding to rescind the acknowledgment or denial of paternity. A signatory submits to the personal jurisdiction of Texas for purposes of rescission proceedings by signing the acknowledgment or denial. The jurisdiction becomes effective when the document is filed with the bureau of vital statistics.
Except for good cause shown, while a proceeding is pending to rescind an acknowledgment or a denial of paternity, the court may not suspend the legal responsibilities of a signatory arising from the acknowledgment, including the duty to pay child support. At the conclusion of a proceeding to rescind an acknowledgment or a denial of paternity, the court must order the bureau of vital statistics to amend the birth record of the child, if appropriate. After the period for rescission has expired, a person who has signed an acknowledgment of paternity or a 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 is conducted in the same manner as a proceeding to adjudicate parentage. Genetic testing evidence that the man who signed an acknowledgment of paternity is not rebuttably identified as the child's father constitutes a material mistake of fact. A proceeding to challenge an acknowledgment or denial must be commenced before the fourth anniversary of the date the acknowledgment or denial is filed with the bureau of vital statistics A collateral attack on an acknowledgment of paternity may not be maintained after the fourth anniversary of the date the acknowledgment is filed with the bureau of vital statistics.