The Houston Family Law Blog


Recently in Paternity Category

Texas Schools Teach the Financial Consequences of Sex

| No TrackBacks

High school students across the state of Texas are learning about the financial aspects of relationships, marriage, and children. Through programs like Parenting and Paternity Awareness (PAPA) and No Kidding, teenagers will learn about their legal obligations as parents and the costs associated with child support, parenting, and paternity.

USA Today reports that child support and paternity are at the basis of the PAPA program, where PAPA's 14-hour curriculum teaches teenagers about importance of father involvement and the value of paternity establishment. Students can also learn about the emotional and financial challenges of raising a child.

Lil Wayne Accused of Fathering Another Child

| No TrackBacks

Lil Wayne just got out of prison last week, but the rapper is already involved in another legal dispute. This time, the legal drama involves a Missouri woman claiming that the hip-hop artist is the father of her 8-year-old child.

The Toronto Sun reports that the woman filed court papers over the summer, demanding Lil Wayne to submit to a DNA test. The rapper was initially supposed to take a paternity test before September 10 of this year. But because Lil Wayne was in prison, the deadline was pushed back until December 9.

What If the Father Does Not Acknowledge Paternity?

| No TrackBacks
When a father does not want to acknowledge paternity in Texas, the mother can contact the Office of the Attorney General or Houston family law attorney to get a child support case opened up in the courts. Through the Office of the Attorney General, the mother can provide information about the alleged father (place of employment, social security number, etc.) so that authorities can track him down.

Woman Claims to Be Daughter of Michael Jackson

| No TrackBacks

A woman from the Netherlands claims that she is the daughter of Michael Jackson and is asking Los Angeles courts to reconsider her case that requests custody of the King of Pop's children and a portion of his estate.

The Money Times reports that Mocienne Petit Jackson claims that she is the love child of Michael Jackson and Barbara Ross, the sister of Diana Ross. The 34-year-old woman claims that their fling occurred in 1975, when Michael Jackson was only 17-years-old. Yet Barbara Ross insists that she has never had an affair with the Pop legend.

Parenting and Paternity Awareness Program in Texas Schools

| No TrackBacks

Four out of five kids will grow up to be parents. So, wouldn't it be a good idea for children to learn how to be good parents while they're still in school? Lawmakers of the 80th Session of the Texas Legislature certainly thought so.

The Office of the Attorney General states that House Bill 2176 requires all school districts to incorporate the Parenting and Paternity Awareness (PAPA) program into their high school health curriculum. The purpose of this program is to teach students about the rights and responsibilities of parenting. The PAPA curriculum focuses on the importance of father involvement, the value of paternity establishment, and the legal criteria of child support. Perhaps today's youth will come out of high school knowing quite a bit about family law.

Home Paternity Tests Now Being Sold on the Market

| No TrackBacks

In many family law cases involving child support, adoption, child custody and visitation, and inheritance, there's a need to legally establish paternity. A paternity test establishes who the biological father is through DNA testing. Texas family law attorneys will often get involved in a case where there's a paternity dispute, but now there's a new home paternity test called Identigene that makes DNA testing easier than ever, because it's sold over the counter at drug stores and pharmacies.

DNATesting.com states that with Identigene, a DNA sample is collected from each paternity test participant using a cheek swab and that the swabs are tested by an accredited DNA paternity testing laboratory. Participants are usually able to view the paternity results online within 3-5 business days.

Understanding Paternity Testing in Texas

| No TrackBacks
Paternity testing is the procedure that is done to legally establish who the father of a child is. It's a standard procedure when the biological mother is unsure of, or needs proof of who the biological father actually is. And while FindLaw states that these tests have an accuracy range between 90 to 99 percent, Texas family law attorneys will sometimes try to prove in court of the test's inaccuracy.

The Paternity Test Results For Mathew Knowles Are In

| No TrackBacks

It's now official that Beyonce Knowles has a half-brother, as the result of her father's paternity test has been made public. The Houston Chronicle reports that the result of the DNA test shows that Mathew Knowles is the father of Alexsandra Wright's newborn baby, Nixon.

Ms. Wright Alleges that Nixon was conceived during an 18-month fling she had with Mr. Knowles, who is still married to his wife Tina Knowles. As reported in an earlier blog post, Ms. Wright filed a paternity lawsuit against Mr. Knowles last October. At a hearing last month in Los Angeles, Mr. Knowles was ordered to pay $8,200 a month in temporary child support until a paternity test came through. And now that the paternity test shows that Mr. Knowles is the father, it's possible that he'll be ordered to pay even more money through regular child support payments.

Surrogacy Contracts in Texas

| No TrackBacks
Texas family law attorneys say that the legal issues around surrogacy agreements can be complex, but at the same time surrogacy can also be a good option for couples who are looking to adopt. FindLaw states that surrogacy most often occurs when a married couple is looking to have a child, but the wife is not able to carry a pregnancy. A fertile husband is able artificially inseminate into a fertile woman through a privately arranged contract. In certain instances, a surrogate mother can also be impregnated with an embryo produced by the wife's ovum.

Matthew Knowles Agrees to Take Paternity Test

| No TrackBacks

There's all sorts of family court drama in Beyonce Knowles' family. For starters, Trans World News reports that Alexsandra Wright claims that she had an 18-month long affair with Beyonce's father, Matthew Knowles. Ms. Wright gave birth to her son last month and believes that Matthew Knowles is the father of her baby. She filed a paternity lawsuit against Mr. Knowles last October and Mr. Knowles has reportedly agreed to submit himself to a paternity test if it is necessary.

If the paternity test shows that Mr. Knowles is the father of the child, then family courts might rule that he is responsible for paying Ms. Wright child support. Global Grind reports that Mr. Knowles has already been ordered to pay all uninsured medical costs for the birth of the child and that a judge has ordered Mr. Knowles to pay some child support for the time being. However, long-term child support payments will be dependent on the results of the paternity test.