Legal Question in Family Law in Texas
My son fathered a child in July of 2012. He is not married to the baby's mother. There is no question of paternity and there has been no court involvement regarding custody. To date this has been amicable and a shared venture.
My son is in the military and currently stationed in Afghanistan and the baby and mother are living with me and my wife in our house. My son wants to have the baby covered under military insurance but they are requiring proof of full custody. The mother is agreeable to this but I am not sure what docuement can be supplied to the military for the proof of custody the military requires.
They is currently nothing on file anywhere stating custody to either parent, so I am confused as to what he must do to "prove" custody.
Is there an affidavit or document that both parents could sign to verify the custody? We are hoping to avoid the costs and headaches of attorney fees and court intercession.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Your son and the mother can sign an Acknowledgement of Paternity that will establish the paternity of the child. No court proceeding is necessary. The Bureau of Vital Statistics has a form for this. Your son should be very careful; if they sign this and it later turns out that he is not the father, then it may be hard to reverse it.
The effect of their signing the acknowledgement and properly filing it is the same as an adjudication of paternity by a court and confers on the father all of the rights and duties of a parent.
Feel free to call our office if we can help you with this.
Bob Leonard, Jr.
(817) 336-8500
Sorry! You must get a court involved. You need to have a judge sign the legal paperwork. You need a judge to have your son ordered to insure this child. Since there are no disagreements, this should not be that expensive.
I recommend that you search this website and/or www.avvo.com for an attorney to help you. Many attorneys are willing to give military discounts to military families for their service to our country. Check around and find one. You can also visit the State Bar of Texas website. I can't tell from your zipcode what county you live in. It does not appear to be Harris County. But shop around and find an attorney that you like.
Unfortunately, I have found that the military is unreasonable about "full custody". In Texas, most parents do something called "joint custody". But the military can't seem to comprehend this concept. So just hire an attorney and let the attorney worry about it.
Good luck! Thank you for your son's service to our country to preserve our freedom. My son-in-law is also in Afghanistan right now too.
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