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It is not uncommon for fathers to feel unfairly dealt with in a child custody settlement in a divorce or paternity case. Mothers sometime will refuse to let the father see or communicate with their child, even when the father is paying his share of the child support. If you have a child, you have certain rights as defined by the state of Texas, and our father's right's attorneys can fight for your right to be involved in your child’s life.

Our firm works to provide clients with supportive care and representation when experiencing an emotional trial such as child custody. Brett H. Pritchard offers personalized strategies to achieve each client's goals. We will fight to uphold your rights and ensure you are treated fairly by the court and deal with you honestly all throughout the process.

What Are My Rights as a Father?

If you are presumed to be the father of a child, legally determined to be the father, or a man who has been judged to be the father by a court, you have certain rights when it comes to your child. Our fathers' rights attorneys can fight for these rights in court so you can have the role in your child’s life that you desire.

Normally both parents have equal right to these until a court creates or modifies the statutory rights of a parent.

Fathers face unique challenges in family law proceedings, requiring legal advocacy to protect their parental rights and maintain meaningful relationships with their children. Temple fathers' rights attorney Brett H. Pritchard provides strategic representation for fathers navigating divorce, custody, and paternity matters throughout Bell County, ensuring equal treatment under Texas family law while challenging outdated judicial biases.

Establishing Legal Fatherhood

Unmarried fathers must establish legal paternity before pursuing custody or visitation rights in Texas courts. Voluntary acknowledgment of paternity provides straightforward establishment when both parents agree, while disputed cases require genetic testing and formal court proceedings. Our Temple fathers' rights practice guides men through paternity establishment while protecting their long-term parental interests.

Biological fathers who delay paternity establishment risk losing parental rights through adoption or other legal proceedings. Time limitations and procedural requirements demand immediate action when paternity questions arise, particularly in cases involving potential adoptive placements or maternal opposition to father involvement.

Equal Custody Considerations

Texas courts have eliminated presumptions favoring mothers in custody determinations, focusing instead on children's best interests and parental fitness factors. However, fathers often encounter lingering judicial biases requiring aggressive advocacy to secure equal consideration for primary custody or joint managing conservatorship arrangements.

Demonstrating active parental involvement through school participation, medical appointment attendance, and extracurricular activity engagement strengthens fathers' custody claims. We help fathers document their parental contributions while building compelling cases for expanded custody arrangements.

Challenging Support Disparities

Income-based child support calculations may create disproportionate financial burdens for high-earning fathers while failing to account for custody time and direct expenditures on children. Deviation requests based on extended possession schedules or extraordinary expenses may justify reduced support obligations below guideline amounts.

Imputed income claims attempt to establish support obligations based on earning capacity rather than actual earnings. Fathers facing unemployment, career transitions, or health issues require vigorous defense against excessive support calculations that ignore current financial realities.

Combating Parental Alienation

Systematic campaigns to damage father-child relationships constitute serious concerns requiring immediate legal intervention. Parental alienation tactics include restricting communication, making false accusations, and programming children to reject paternal relationships. These situations demand comprehensive documentation and often professional psychological evaluation.

Courts increasingly recognize parental alienation as harmful to children's emotional development and may modify custody arrangements when alienating behaviors persist. We work with mental health professionals to identify alienation patterns while pursuing appropriate legal remedies.

Military Father Protections

Servicemembers' Civil Relief Act provides specific protections for military fathers facing family law proceedings during active duty periods. Deployment schedules, permanent change of station orders, and military training requirements create unique challenges for maintaining parental relationships and meeting court obligations.

Military fathers may delegate visitation rights to extended family members during deployments while preserving their custodial time upon return. We ensure compliance with federal military family protections while addressing state court requirements.

Domestic Violence Defense

False domestic violence allegations often emerge during contentious custody disputes as tactical maneuvers to restrict fathers' access to their children. Emergency protective orders based on unsubstantiated claims can immediately terminate father-child contact pending full hearings weeks or months later.

Aggressive defense strategies, including witness testimony, communication evidence, and character references, help fathers overcome false allegations while protecting their reputations and parental rights. We coordinate with criminal defense counsel when necessary to address related charges.

Modification and Enforcement Rights

Fathers have equal rights to seek custody modifications when circumstances change substantially or when existing orders fail to serve children's best interests. Material changes, including maternal relocation, remarriage, or lifestyle modifications, may justify expanded paternal custody arrangements.

Enforcement remedies protect fathers when mothers interfere with court-ordered visitation or violate custody provisions. Contempt proceedings, makeup visitation orders, and custody modification requests provide legal recourse for systematic violations.

Stepfather Adoption Issues

Stepfathers seeking to adopt stepchildren must address biological father consent requirements or pursue termination of paternal rights through abandonment or other statutory grounds. These proceedings balance competing interests while protecting children's welfare and family stability.

Fathers defending against unwanted stepparent adoptions require immediate legal action to preserve their parental rights and maintain relationships with their children. Contact The Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard at 254-781-4222 or online to protect your father's rights in Temple, Texas, family court proceedings.

We can Ensure You are Treated Fairly

When one parent tries to encroach on your parental rights by what is known as parental alienation, this can be contested in court. Alienation employs more subtle attempts to deny access to the child by deliberately straining the child’s relationship with the other parent in some way. Our dedicated fathers' rights lawyers know how to bring such actions to light in order to restore your rights to your child.