Legal Question in Family Law in Texas
About 14 years ago my brother in law was in a relationship with a woman we'll call M. M became pregnant and initially told my brother in law that the baby was his. He believed her and was ready to accept responsibility. However, soon after, M decided to marry another man and told my brother in law the baby was not his after all and to basically go away. A couple years later, my sister enters the picture and they marry and have two boys. 14 years pass and M has resurfaced to serve my brother in law with papers to sue him for child support. I suspect M is in need of money and this is why she has resurfaced l. What are my brother in laws rights in relation to this? He was willing to raise the child until M told him to hit the road. Does he have any rights here? I understand a paternity test needs to be performed, but shouldn't M also be responsible for lying to my brother in law and telling him to stay out of the baby's life? This has completely devastated my sister. How can they protect themselves if it turns out M is only after money?
1 Answer from Attorneys
That's a rough situation for sure. The best single piece of advice I can give is that your brother in law needs to hire an attorney. Dealing with these issues are technical and at worst he could find himself looped into paying child support for a child that isn't his.
Assuming your brother in law is the biological father it doesn't really matter if M is only out for money. Your brother in law has an obligation to provide support for his child. The child doesn't get punished because M is a terrible person. Your brother in law can establish access to his child and work on forming a relationship but he doesn't have to. He could chose to treat the child as another bill to be paid each month and leave it at that.
That said, nobody should put the cart before the horse here. Just because M showed up with some paperwork does not mean she has filed anything or that your brother in law is necessarily the biological father.
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