Establishing Paternity in Texas | Fort Worth

This episode of the Law Office of Bryan Fagan podcast breaks down how paternity is legally established in Texas, starting with the crucial distinction between being a biological father and a legal father, since under Texas law an unmarried man is not automatically granted enforceable custody or visitation rights simply because he is the biological parent; the discussion then walks through the two paths to legal fatherhood, the voluntary route through an Acknowledgment of Paternity signed by both parents (along with the narrow 60-day window to rescind it) and the court-ordered route through a Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship, which can include court-ordered genetic testing that must meet a 99 percent probability threshold to establish a legal presumption of paternity, before covering how Texas courts apply the best-interest-of-the-child standard to set conservatorship, possession schedules, and child and medical support once paternity is confirmed, and closing with the most common mistakes parents make that can weaken their case and why early legal guidance from an experienced Fort Worth paternity attorney matters.