Texas Child Support Legislation Addresses “Duped Dads” Issue Following Divorce
The Divorce Blog has detailed the “Duped Dads” issue in the past, and a Texas state legislator is trying to protect those fathers who learn after divorce via DNA tests that they are not the biological parent of a child. State Representative Harold Dutton has introduced House Bill 774, which would add DNA tests to Texas child support cases. Current Texas law presumes that a child born during a marriage is a child of the marriage.
Specifically, this Texas legislation would not allow a court to make a father pay child support in an amount of greater than $100 on several conditions:
• if he learns through genetic testing that he is not the biological father of the child;
• if the mother knew he was not the father, and yet signed an acknowledgement of his paternity and initiated a proceeding for child support from him.
Dutton called these instances in which men believe that they are the fathers and thus pay child support payments for years before learning that they are not the biological parent a “huge problem” in a KHOU.com story. The story also detailed the case of Morgan Wise, who learned long after his divorce that two of his four children were not biologically his. Wise was quoted in the story as calling this discovery “the worst day of his life.”
While Dutton’s child support legislation has drawn some support, it has also raised concerns. Divorce lawyer Rick Flowers said that while he understands such anger, he feels there is a time to challenge paternity. According to Flowers, that time is before the divorce case. He added that these “Duped Dads” cases are very rare and estimated that he only sees them 1 out of every 300 clients. We’ll keep you updated on the latest developments with this Texas child support legislation.
December 12th, 2007 at 8:41 pm
[...] Texas Child Support Legislation Addresses “Duped Dads” Issue Following Divorce [...]
October 8th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
I am very interested in what the state of Texas will do to allow biological fathers to ESTABLISH paternity of their own children when the “legally presumed father” is unavailable to deny paternity.
I separated from my ex over 4 years ago, with my two children.
He said he couldn’t wait to get rid of us, then when he heard that I had a new relationship, he mounted a *vicious* custody assault, which he lost, largely due to not bothering to show up to the hearing. That was the last we ever heard of him. His two daughters have received no communication and certainly no support since before that final hearing.
Now I have a new partner, and a new daughter. Imagien our distress when we learned that the deadbeat who doesn’t even support his OWN biological children is now, according to TC law, the “presumed father” of our NEW baby!
It’s an atrocity!
I’ve been told by everyone I can find that there is no way to submit DNA evidence to establish that my ex is NOT the father of my third daughter, and that even if I could fffort the $5k retainer to begin in-absentia divorce proceedings against him, it wouldn’t matter, as she was born before the divorce.
SOMEONE has GOT to change this INSANE law and allow ANYONE to challenge and establish paternity of ANY child at ANY time.
We’ve also got to make it easier to divorce people who ABANDON their families intentionally for the express purpose of making it impossible to obtain a divorce.
Is ANYONE working on legislation of this nature?