What is the difference between legal and presumed paternity?

Legal paternity and presumed paternity are two different terms that refer to the father of a child. In Texas, legal paternity is established through either a parent signing a voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity form or an order from a court. Establishing legal paternity in Texas gives a father certain rights, such as being named as the child’s father on the birth certificate and being able to seek visitation and custody rights. Presumed paternity, on the other hand, is different than legal paternity and it occurs when an unmarried couple has a child. In this situation, the mother’s husband is presumed to be the father of the child. He does not need to take any legal steps to be listed as the father on the child’s birth certificate or to establish his rights as the father. The main difference between legal and presumed paternity is that legal paternity requires an official acknowledgement or a court ruling, whereas presumed paternity does not need any official paperwork. Both types of paternity allow for the father to have certain rights associated with being the father of a child, such as the right to have his name on the birth certificate and the right to seek visitation and custody rights.

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What is the difference between legal and presumed paternity?

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