Presumed Fatherhood – Kris, Kim, and Kanye

presumed fatherhood

 

Chris Chambers / Frederick M. Brown / Pascal Le Segretain, Getty Images

 

We have all seen it on tv, heard about it on the radio, or read a friend’s opinion on Facebook.  Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries’ divorce has become a bitter, ugly public relations battle where deception and greed have ruled the day.

 

Enter Kanye West.  The (in)famous rapper who has made headlines for both his skill as an artist and his outrageous and sometimes ignorant statements about politics in America.  Most recently, West shocked the entertainment media by announcing in December that he and Kardashian were pregnant with their first child.

 

Kim and Kris’s divorce has still not been finalized, adding another messy layer to this entire scandal.

 

How does this relate to Family Law, you ask?  Under the common law, there was a presumption that a child born to a marriage was a child of the husband.  Therefore, under the common law, it would be presumed that the baby Kardashian is carrying belongs to Humphries, as they are still married at this time.

 

If they were all in Texas, Texas law takes steps to protect the “faithful” husband by following the Uniform Parentage Act.  A proceeding to challenge the paternity presumption could be maintained within four years of the birth of the child by the presumed father, mother, or any other man seeking to be named the parent.

 

Also, the presumed father has a method to deny paternity if another man has acknowledged paternity.  So, if the same facts were applied in Texas, Humphries could deny paternity and West could acknowledge paternity, either in separate documents or the same document.  A suit to determine the parentage if the child has a presumed parent can be brought within four years after the child’s birth.

 

What do you think about presumed fathers in Texas and the Uniform Parentage Act?

Written by: Austin Lanham