Parental rights define a parent’s legal relationship with their child, and these rights are assumed for both mother and father when children are born to married parents or parents who can agree on paternity at the time of birth. Parental rights include the right to make decisions in your child’s life and have custody and visitation. When parents divorce, paternity is in question, or if there are questions about a parent’s ability to care for their child, it can become necessary to fight for parental rights. A custody attorney in Houston, TX can help ensure that your rights are protected and legally recognized.
Your Parental Rights
Parental rights in Texas include the right to make important decisions about your child’s upbringing, such as their education, what healthcare they will receive, and any religious training. A parent’s rights also include the right to have custody or visitation; but not all parents automatically have these rights. Unmarried fathers in particular may need to take legal steps to establish their paternity, and an attorney can help to clarify what rights you have and what steps are needed to secure them.
If parents are married when a child is born, both are presumed to have parental rights. If the parents were unmarried, or if disputes arise, an attorney might be required to confirm your rights. In addition, if you are locked in a contentious child custody battle, the child’s other parent could be questioning your capabilities as a parent or even lying about them entirely in an attempt to deprive you of your rights. An attorney can help you here, too.
Ways a Houston, TX Custody Attorney Can Help
Establishing Paternity
If you are an unmarried father, proving your paternity is usually the first step in making sure all your rights are defended. A lawyer can help you file a paternity suit in court or go through the hoops required to get a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity. A voluntary acknowledgment of paternity is the simplest way to go about this. A voluntary acknowledgment is just a legal document that you and the child’s mother must sign where you agree that you are the legal father. However, if the mother is disputing paternity, or if you yourself are unsure, your attorney can request the court to order DNA testing to be certain.
Throughout this process, your lawyer will make sure all paperwork is filed correctly and all deadlines are met. They will represent you in court as necessary and advocate for your right to be recognized as your child’s parent. Establishing paternity is a very important step: if you don’t do this, you have no legal claim to a relationship with your child.
Making Custody and Visitation Agreements
The Texas courts prioritize the best interests of the child in all custody and visitation agreements; yet the courts also prefer it when a family can come to an agreement about how to work out custody. If you and the child’s other parent can come up with a parenting plan that is acceptable to the court, this can save you a lot of frustration and allow you to retain control over your family’s life to a large degree.
An attorney representing you can negotiate with the other parent and their attorney and provide both a buffer and an outsider’s perspective that often makes it easier to come to an agreement. Your attorney will also make sure that your agreement doesn’t miss anything. Your plan needs to cover holidays and regular days and should also explain details like how decisions will be made, where the child will be dropped off or picked up, what will happen in the event of an emergency, and how communication should be done both on a regular basis and also in an emergency situation.
If the child’s other parent refuses to work with you in establishing a parenting plan, your attorney can then work with you to come up with a plan of your own and then advocate for it in court. Your attorney will gather and present the evidence needed to explain why your plan is in your child’s best interest. Your dispute may end up in mediation, as well, and your lawyer can both help you prepare for mediation and often can be there with you. Your lawyer will also protect you during mediation from coming to an agreement that would not be in your child’s best interests or would violate your rights as a parent.
Modifying Existing Parental Agreements
Sometimes, life changes. When it does, you may need to seek a modification to an existing parenting plan that the court has already ordered or signed off on. It’s also not unheard of for one parent to request a modification unreasonably and even exaggerate or lie in an attempt to cut the other parent out of their child’s life. Whether you need to request a modification or need help in fighting a modification request by the other parent, having a lawyer is the best way to ensure your rights are protected in this situation.
Texas law only allows modifications under certain circumstances, so you will need to show that there has been a significant change. For example, if you have recently lost your job or gotten a new job with a very different schedule, this might require a change to a visitation schedule. If there has been a change in the life of your child, such as if they’re going to a new school or have developed a serious health condition, this might also warrant a change. But if the other parent is trying to fight for a change when there’s no good reason for it, you need help protecting your rights: especially if the other parent is making false accusations. Your lawyer will aggressively defend you here, gathering the evidence needed to show your true situation and abilities as a parent.
Protecting You From Termination of Your Parental Rights
The courts in Texas can take parental rights away from a person in certain situations. This most often happens after claims that a child is being neglected, abused, or abandoned. If you lose your parental rights, this means you have no more legal tie to your child and no more right to request custody and visitation. However, it does require meeting a very high legal standard to convince the court to terminate parental rights, and your lawyer will fight to show that this is an inappropriate step.
If you want to continue to be involved in the life of your child but are struggling with substance abuse or other issues that are making it hard for you to parent well, your lawyer can help you advocate for something less than actual termination of your rights to allow you to continue to be involved with your child as you recover. Even if your parental rights have been terminated, reinstatement is possible under Texas law under certain conditions. Talk to your lawyer to find out what your options might be.
To protect your parental rights, reach out to us now at the Clark Law Firm, P.C. in Houston, TX, where we have over 30 years of experience in protecting Houston’s families.
