[pinckreme@earthlink.net]

I will present this as simply as possible!

(1) Child was born in 1988 in State of CA.
(2) Birth certificate has my name included.
(3) I signed an AOP that was composed by child's Mother & Grandmother... not notarized!
(4) No court order was established in regards to support... verbal agreement for the last 16 years.
(5) Two years ago, Mother initiated petition for court ordered child support... "State of Texas"
(6) DNA testing revealed I am not the Father!
(7) Child is now 18, and Mother is still pursuing the "Legal Father" stance.
(8) I read on a post that in the State of Texas, an unwed Father has an "unlimited time" to disprove paternity
(9) Of course there is more to this saga... These are the basic facts!
(10) My plans are to pursue Paternity Fraud... her deposition revealed that she knew and that due to to the fact that "Fraternization" was the overhead issue, I was not in a position to contest!

Any thoughts out there?

[Mr. Knowitall]

So you've never formally been recognized as the child's legal father in any state, and all of the support you have paid has been voluntary?

[pinckreme@earthlink.net]

No sir!, I signed a "homemade" AOP that was not notarized (is this necessary?), and she put my info on the Birth Certificate! Monies paid were by a verbal agreement!... it was "keep your mouth shut" money! I was a Captain in the Marines, she was an enlisted girl! I had a lot to lose here career wise and she knew it!

[Mr. Knowitall]

Texas law isn't going to do you any good, if your paternity is established in California under that state's laws. Without knowing what this homemade document looked like or how it was used to put you on the birth certificate, I have to say, contact a California family lawyer and have the lawyer review the homemade document and evaluate your remedies.

[pinckreme@earthlink.net]

Just to clarify... Birth Certificate is CA., AOP is CA., never went to court to establish paternity, child support, legal fatherhood! 16 years later she wants to have all of this determined/established in the state of Texas!... wouldn't it now become totally dictated by Texas law and its' rulings?

[aaron]

You need to make up your mind as to whether you were added to the child's birth certificate in California, or if you are not yet the child's legal father.

[pinckreme@earthlink.net]

It is not a case of making up my mind!... what dictates or determines what legal Father is? As stated previously, my name is on the CA certificate! I signed an affidavit that is dubious back in CA. None of this was ever documented in any courts, in any state! Sixteen (16) years later, she wants it carved in stone (Texas) that I am the legal Father! DNA disproves I am not the biological Father. Is this a CA issue or Texas? ... the child is a Texas resident and is now 18! I want it to read (in any state) that I am not the legal Father... whatever that means in this case!

[aaron]

You state that you signed an affidavit and were made the child's legal father in California. If that's the case, consult a California lawyer as previously suggested. If not, consult a Texas lawyer. If there is a matter currently pending in the Texas courts, it sounds like you need to do that anyway.

[muttmommie]

Was the DNA test court ordered? You said the mother filed the petition in Texas....or was it the Attorney General filing the petition on behalf of the child? What was the petition seeking? Back support or just paternity establishment? Has there been a hearing on the DNA results? Seems that a Texas court could find you as the legal father without DNA testing (because you voluntarily signed the AOP), so I'm curious as to what prompted the DNA test.....seems to me that if the court ordered it, then they may relieve you of any further obligation to the child. But you won't be able to recover any monies you've already paid to the mother, because you did it voluntarily and have had plenty of time to dispute it.

[pinckreme@earthlink.net]

Believe it or not, it was her attorney that ordered the test! When it was determined that it was not mine, they tried to simply drop things... walk away! Most of my fight over the last two years was to get it heard in a final hearing. Their stance is based on this affidavit I had signed that she and her Mother had composed on a home computer... we go to mediation next!