In Texas, Why is 301 Days After a Divorce Special When it Comes to Paternity

In Texas, if a woman delivers a baby up to the 301st first day after her divorce ends, her ex-husband is very likely still the presumed father of the baby. “Very likely” because there may be exceptions. A family lawyer can better explain how the Texas paternity statutes impact paternity claims. See the state statutes on presumptions of paternity here in Chapter 160 of the Texas Family Code.

Sec. 160.204.  PRESUMPTION OF PATERNITY.  (a)  A man is presumed to be the father of a child if:(1)  he is married to the mother of the child and the child is born during the marriage;(2)  he is married to the mother of the child and the child is born before the 301st day after the date the marriage is terminated by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity, or divorce;(3)  he married the mother of the child before the birth of the child in apparent compliance with law, even if the attempted marriage is or could be declared invalid, and the child is born during the invalid marriage or before the 301st day after the date the marriage is terminated by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity, or divorce;(4)  he married the mother of the child after the birth of the child in apparent compliance with law, regardless of whether the marriage is or could be declared invalid, he voluntarily asserted his paternity of the child, and:(A)  the assertion is in a record filed with the vital statistics unit;(B)  he is voluntarily named as the child's father on the child's birth certificate; or(C)  he promised in a record to support the child as his own; or(5)  during the first two years of the child's life, he continuously resided in the household in which the child resided and he represented to others that the child was his own.(b)  A presumption of paternity established under this section may be rebutted only by:(1)  an adjudication under Subchapter G;  or(2)  the filing of a valid denial of paternity by a presumed father in conjunction with the filing by another person of a valid acknowledgment of paternity as provided by Section 160.305.
Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 821, Sec. 1.01, eff. June 14, 2001;  Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 610, Sec. 10, eff. Sept. 1, 2003;  Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1248, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.Amended by: Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1 (S.B. 219), Sec. 1.055, eff. April 2, 2015.