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DALLAS
FAMILY LAW PRIMER |
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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rescinded or challenged, a valid acknowledgment of paternity filed with the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: ·
Does
not have a presumed father, or ·
Has
a presumed father whose full name is stated. ·
An
acknowledgment of paternity must also state: ·
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: ·
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; ·
States
that another man is an acknowledged or adjudicated father of the child; or ·
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: ·
An
acknowledgment of paternity signed or otherwise authenticated by another man
is filed with the bureau of vital statistics; ·
The
denial is in a tangible or electronic form; ·
The
denial is signed or otherwise authenticated under penalty of perjury; ·
The
presumed father has not previously acknowledged paternity of the child,
unless the previous acknowledgment has been rescinded or successfully
challenged; and ·
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. |
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