Round Rock Father’s Rights Lawyer

Parents want what is best for their children, even when they disagree with each other. Deciding where your child should live after a divorce or separation can be an emotional issue, and parents need legal assistance to ensure that everyone’s rights are protected.

A Round Rock father’s rights lawyer could help you assert your legal rights as a father. Although the maternal presumption no longer applies in Texas courts, there can be some cases where an adoptive or unwed father needs additional legal assistance to obtain custody, also known as conservatorship, of their child. At Kimbrough Family Law, our family law attorneys could help you maintain your relationship with your child.

Who Is a Presumptive Father?

In Texas, a man is presumed to be the father of a child if he is married to the mother, or if the child is born within 300 days of the end of the marriage. He is also presumptively the father if he is named on the birth certificate or signs an Acknowledgment of Paternity. The state also recognizes behavioral paternity. For instance, if you have resided with a child and acted as the child’s father for the first two years or more of the child’s life, then the court will consider you as the presumptive father.

After a divorce or separation, you can ask for conservatorship or visitation as an acknowledged or presumed father. A family law attorney in Round Rock could help you enforce your right as a father to request custody if the court determines it is in the child’s best interest.

What Are a Father’s Rights in a Divorce?

In family court, the primary concern of the judge is the best interest of the child as provided in the Texas Family Code § 153.002. All other things being equal, both parents have the same right to conservatorship of their child and to have equal access to visitation and possession. Conservatorship can include the right to:

• Be listed as an emergency contact for the child
• Receive updates about the child from other individuals
• Access the child’s school records and speak with the child’s teachers
• Make decisions about the child’s education and medical care together with the other parent

If there are reasons to restrict any rights, the order must also describe any rights the father retains. If you feel that any of your rights as a father have been limited, a child custody lawyer in Round Rock could help you challenge those restrictions in court.

Reasons to Limit Parental Rights

Parental rights can be restricted if a judge determines that contact with any of the parents is not in the child’s best interests. The most common reason for denial is a history of domestic violence. Texas Family Code § 153.004 prevents judges from awarding a parent unsupervised access to a child if that parent has a history of violence or has committed certain crimes of abuse at any time within the past two years.

If you have had a history of such offenses, you may still be able to maintain shared conservatorship of your child. A paternity rights attorney in Round Rock could suggest alternative means of resolving disputes, such as supervised visitation or monitored exchanges. Family courts prefer these alternatives to denying a child contact with both parents.

Get Legal Advice From a Father’s Rights Attorney in Round Rock

Parenting time and decision-making are frequently among the most emotionally challenging aspects of divorce. A Round Rock father’s rights lawyer at Kimbrough Family Law, could help you assert your legal rights while ensuring the child’s best interests remain foremost. Call us today to discuss your case.