Can You Seek Custody or Visitation If You’re Not Named?
If you’re like most parents, your children mean everything in the world to you. You may not be able to live with them every day, whether because of divorce or because the child was born out of wedlock, but you still want to see and spend time with them, to play an active and meaningful role in their growth and development.
Occasionally, though, because of circumstances, you as a father may not be named on the child’s birth certificate. Will that prevent you from having any rights with respect to the child? Do biological fathers have certain basic rights with respect to a child in Texas?
Are There Any Rights Automatically Conferred to a Biological Father?
A biological father does not, under Texas law, have any parental rights with respect to a child simply by virtue of being a biological parent. If the father is married to the mother, there is an assumption of paternity and the father may have rights, even if his name does not appear on the birth certificate. If, however, the biological father is not married to the mother, there are no automatically conferred rights.
Can a Biological Father Acquire Any Rights with Respect to a Child If His Name Does Not Appear on the Birth Certificate?
Yes. The fact that the biological father’s name does not appear on the birth certificate does not, as a matter of law, prevent him from obtaining parental rights. A biological father whose name does not appear on a birth certificate may take certain legal steps to secure parental rights. To do so, the biological father must establish paternity.
In certain situations, paternity will be presumed:
- If the biological father was married to the child’s mother when the child was born
- If the biological father was married to the mother and the child was born within 301 days of the date of the end of the marriage, whether by divorce decree, annulment, declaration of invalidity, or the death of a parent
- If the biological father marries the child’s mother after the date of birth, but willingly asserts paternity by filing the necessary documentation with the Texas vital statistics offices
- If the biological father lived consecutively with the child for the first two years of the child’s life and represented to the world that the child was his
When circumstances do not support a presumption of paternity, a biological father may still obtain parental rights, in one of two ways:
- The biological father may file an Acknowledgement of Paternity, a formal document signed by both parents that attests to the father’s paternity.
- The biological father may file a Suit to Adjudicate Parentage, typically if the mother will not acknowledge paternity. This type of legal proceeding usually involves a paternity test, as well as other potential evidence of fatherhood.
At the law offices of Bailey & Galyen, we have protected the rights of people across Texas for more than four decades, including fathers in divorce and family law disputes. We have a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the laws governing child custody, visitation, and child support, and we can help you take the right steps to protect your rights. Contact us by email or call our offices at one of the convenient locations listed below. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
