How Can Fathers Assert Their Rights in Texas Family Law Cases?

In Texas, fathers have equal legal rights to mothers in family law cases. This includes all issues of custody, visitation, and support. Accessing these rights, however, requires you to establish your paternity, and then it’s important to take proactive legal steps to protect those rights. A Houston family lawyer can help you establish that you are the father of your children and then claim your rights under the law.

The first step for fathers, especially unmarried ones, is establishing paternity to gain legal recognition as the child’s father. Paternity can be presumed if the father is married to the mother at the child’s birth, and in a few other situations. If presumed paternity doesn’t apply in your case, another way to establish it is through signing an Acknowledgment of Paternity (AOP) form along with the mother. This usually happens at the hospital at the birth of a child whose parents are not married, but it can happen later if the child’s mother is willing to sign it with you. 

If the child’s mother refuses to acknowledge your paternity, or if there is legitimate confusion even in the mother’s mind over who the father actually is, fathers can petition the court to order a DNA test. This usually takes 4–6 weeks to process, but is definitive. Once paternity is established, fathers gain rights to seek custody, visitation, and decision-making authority in their child’s life and must also shoulder the responsibilities of fatherhood, like paying child support. 

Texas uses the term “conservatorship” instead of custody. As the court makes custody decisions, the sole standard for all decisions is the child’s best interests. Fathers can file a Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship (SAPCR) if they want to request joint managing conservatorship, which is where both parents share the decision-making authority in their child’s life, or sole managing conservatorship if the mother is unwilling or unfit to make those decisions. However, the courts do favor joint arrangements whenever possible and are usually reluctant to order sole managing conservatorship (for either father or mother) except in cases of family violence or complete abandonment. 

The other type of conservatorship is about who the child lives with, and a father can be the sole custodial parent or share custody with the mother. As you file, it’s important that you provide proof of your involvement in your child’s life. The courts are aware that some parents who have been neglectful and uninterested in their children up until a divorce, for example, can sometimes suddenly show an interest in their children not really because they care about the child, but simply because they want to “take something” from the other parent or hurt them in some way. 

You can avoid any concern over this by showing how you’ve been active in your child’s life up to this point, such as by attending school activities or medical appointments, and by showing your knowledge of your child’s personal life, from their favorite foods to their best friends. It’s also important that you file as quickly as possible. Prompt filing prevents delays and shows that you are committed to your child.

Fathers who are not the custodial parent are usually still possessory conservators and can still push for their visitation rights, which are only denied in the most extreme of cases. Visitation is ordered in line with the standard possession orders of Texas unless you can show why another schedule is in your child’s best interests. 

The standard order usually grants the noncustodial parent visitation on the first, third, and fifth weekends of the month, on Thursday evenings, and on alternating holidays. However, you can always negotiate for more time or for an otherwise customized plan that is a better fit for your schedule and needs. If you want to argue for a modified plan, you’ll need to show some evidence not only of your active involvement in your child’s life but also of the need for a change. For example, if you work more during the weekends than during the week, this could make a difference in how the possession orders are laid down.

If the child’s mother denies you access to the child, you can then talk to your Houston family lawyer about filing for enforcement. The court takes this kind of behavior very seriously and can order a number of remedies, including fines and required make-up time.

Once your paternity has been established, you have more than rights: you also have responsibilities. Primary among these responsibilities is the requirement to pay child support. Support is calculated based on your income, the income of the child’s other parent, the child’s needs, and the amount of custody time that each parent has. This means support is not necessarily a given, and it’s also possible that the mother could be required to pay child support. 

The purpose of child support is to make sure that the child’s needs are met, no matter where they are living, and that they enjoy a relatively similar standard of living whether they are with their mother or their father. Thus, if you and the child’s mother have similar incomes and roughly equal custody time, no child support may be ordered at all. If the mother has primary custody, you may be ordered to pay child support to even out the obligation. If you have primary custody, the mother may be ordered to pay child support.

To make sure that child support is fair, it’s important that you provide accurate financial records and work with your lawyer to demand the same from the child’s mother. Your lawyer can help you negotiate for a fair amount of support considering your financial situation and that of the child’s mother as well as the child’s needs. If your circumstances change, especially if you lose your job involuntarily, you can petition the court for a modification to child support. The courts do not lightly allow modifications, but your lawyer can help you show exactly what’s happened and why modification is necessary.

Addressing Bias and Stereotypes With the Help of Your Houston Family Lawyer

If you’re a father in need of legal help, call C.E. Schmidt & Associates, PLLC now at 281-550-6650 to speak with a team member in the Houston, Fort Bend county, and Harris county areas.