In most legal cases in Texas, child support essentially relies on two aspects. First, a minor child must need support. Next, the custodial parent must be unable to meet all the needs and maintenance required to raise the minor child. While child support is usually sought from the non-custodial parent, in cases where the child is born to unmarried parents or for any other reason a child’s paternity is questioned, child support assignment and determination relies heavily on first establishing paternity of the child. Various legal and scientific procedures need to be followed in such cases.
Fathers most often acknowledge the paternity of the child in cases where the child is born to unmarried parents or where the parents are completely sure of the paternity of the child. Such forms and documents relating to the acknowledgment of paternity are often produced and signed right after birth in a hospital or medical facility.
In other cases where parents are sure about the paternity but the father is not present during the child’s birth, paternity can be established later. The attorneys at Verner Brumley Mueller Parker PC familiar with these proceedings know that a child support case where paternity has already been established is less cumbersome and often more cost-effective.
When the paternity of the minor child is disputed or questioned, the custodial parent can petition the court for a paternity test with the help of her legal representatives. After the establishment of paternity with the due process of law, attorneys can then establish a case for child support. The total income of each parent and the basic and special needs of the minor child in question are assessed by the court to determine the correct amount of child support to be paid.
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