Dallas Divorce Lawyer Blog
Are you facing a divorce with your spouse and you are concerned that you are not the father of your child? You have probably always had that feeling (given your spouse’s cheating history) that you are not the child’s biological father but you just have never acted on that feeling. However, now that you are facing a divorce you feel that it is important to raise this as an issue and deny your paternity. Absent addressing all of the issues that can arise with a denial of paternity, you need to know what can happen in the interim while the case is pending. You may not be the biological father, but you still may be the presumed father.
What is a presumed father?
You are the presumed father for all legal purposes if one of the following is true: you are married to the mother and the child was born during the marriage; you married the mother before the birth of the child even if the marriage could be invalid; you married the mother before the birth of the child and your name is on the birth certificate. This means, even if you are not the biological father of the child you are the father in the eyes of the law. Therefore, the judge can make orders according to that legal fact and most likely will do so.
Presumed fathers can be made to pay child support, even if they are not the biological father
If you have a temporary orders hearing coming up and the issue of denial of paternity is not on the court’s docket then the court can make orders with respect to visitation and even child support. Yes, you read that correctly—even child support. You could be ordered to pay child support on the child until the denial of paternity is set for a hearing and granted by the court. In fact, Texas Family Code Section 160.309 commands that the court must do so. Reason being—it is not the child’s fault that you have decided to question your paternity now at this point and most courts will not leave a child without support. You are the presumed father and therefore the Family Code allows the court to make appropriate orders in line with such.
Therefore, the suggestion would be that if you are in fact going to question your paternity you need to do so in the beginning and make sure the appropriate pleadings/requests are on file and a hearing over this issue should be heard before any other. That may eliminate any interim orders of child support, or it may not. It will depend upon the court and the facts of your case.
It is essential that if you have any question of paternity that it must be raised at the time that you have this question. You cannot wait in an attempt to avoid payment of child support or any other duty that a presumed father has because a court would not be too keen on someone trying to dodge their obligations. If you are facing this issue, you sh0uld meet with a family law attorney who can advise you along the way. Schedule a consultation today.