Denton Paternity Action Attorney

Paternity Actions

Paternity actions are actions which determine the existence or non-existence of a father-child relationship, and may be brought at any time by a child, the natural mother, a presumed father, a man alleging himself to be the father, or the Office of the Attorney General.

Paternity is presumed if (1) the man and the child’s natural mother are or have been married to each other and the child is born during the marriage or within 300 days after the marriage is terminated; (2) the man acknowledged paternity in writing including placing his name on the birth certificate, (3) a man has acknowledged the child as his own in a written affidavit signed by the mother and filed with Vital Records; or (5) where a paternity test indicates a man is the father with a probability of 98% or higher. In a paternity action, a man may also consent to paternity with an acknowledgment of Parentage.

Once paternity is established, the Court must approve or create a parenting plan for the child.