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Mistaken fathers have one year to challenge paternity

Mastodon - Mon, 2012-08-13 20:48

Article here. Excerpt:

'Men can legally challenge the paternity on the grounds of fraud, mistake or misrepresentation following the 2011 amendment to Chapter 161 of the Texas Family Code.

The new law enables a man who has previously been named as the biological father of a child in a court order or has signed an acknowledgment of paternity to challenge his paternity by filing a petition in court to terminate his parental rights after later discovering the fraud.

In order to successfully challenge paternity under the new law, a man must file a verified petition, after which the court will hold a pre-trial hearing to determine whether the man has a justifiable reason for not previously questioning his paternity. The court then will order genetic testing.'