Legal Question in Family Law in Texas
My ex boyfriend, who is the father of my daughter, never established paternity. In the state of Texas, that means that she has no legal father, therefore he doesn't have any parental rights. It was somewhat mutually decided that I raise our daughter alone and he was to exit our lives. Since he technically does not have any rights/is not legally her father, if I were to get married later in life, would my husband become her legal father? Do I need my ex to sign something for that to happen?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Your husband could only become her father if there was a termination of parental rights then a step-parent adoption done.
Your husband will not be determined to be her father when a DNA test is done. Most courts in Texas now require DNA testing to be done on every case.
You will need an attorney to help you do the termination and step-parent adoption. I've written about this on my blog. Texas is very strict on terminating a person's parental rights since it is permanent and parental rights are taken very seriously in Texas.
If you don't understand what I've written then meet in person with a family law attorney to discuss. Look on this website and on www.avvo.com for an attorney.
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