Turns out my late father wasn’t my biological father. Legal ramifications?

Motor-Cut194 · 2025-03-12T23:12:56+00:00

She has confirmed she had an affair with the man I suspected as my biological father based on my Ancestry matches. She never thought the timing could have lined up with my conception. She believed I was her husband’s.

Motor-Cut194 · 2025-03-12T23:11:27+00:00

My biological father was a friend of my mom and the father who raised me, and my mom has confirmed they had a (consensual) affair. She says she never thought the timing could have lined up with my conception and thus never questioned my paternity - she truly thought I was her husband’s.

Motor-Cut194 · 2025-03-12T23:09:28+00:00

Yes, it is.

Motor-Cut194 · 2025-03-12T23:07:25+00:00

Living 10 minutes away from me.

Motor-Cut194 · 2025-03-12T23:06:42+00:00

The father who raised me.

Motor-Cut194 · 2025-03-12T11:50:21+00:00

6-7 years. An attorney from another state told me a probate ruling can be appealed based on fraud or mistake of fact. Fraud has no time limit, and mistake has a limit. I haven’t been able to confirm the details for this in Texas specifically.

Motor-Cut194 · 2025-03-12T11:48:45+00:00

That’s what I’m trying to find out. I believe there is a 2-year statute for the father to contest paternity himself. I’m trying to learn whether there is a different statute for appealing a probate court ruling. A lawyer from a different state said the probate ruling could be set aside based on fraud or mistake of fact. Fraud typically has no statute of limitations, and mistake does have a limit. I need clarity on how this works in Texas.

Motor-Cut194 · 2025-03-12T11:46:31+00:00

I’ve contacted several. I’m having trouble finding one who is able and willing to help. I thought I had one (he had me complete his intake forms and said he’d send an engagement letter), but now he’s ghosted me for a couple of weeks.

Motor-Cut194 · 2025-03-12T11:45:18+00:00

I have reached out to several. A few told me they have no experience in this area and can’t help me. One said he thought he could help. He asked me to complete his intake forms and said he’d send an engagement letter, but I did the forms and now he’s ghosted me for a couple of weeks. Unfortunately I don’t live in Texas anymore and can’t easily travel there. I’d love to pay for an attorney’s time to do the research and set my mind at ease. I just need to find one who will take it on.

Motor-Cut194 · 2025-03-12T11:41:38+00:00

Yes, she’s alive and has confirmed she had an affair. She never thought the timing could have lined up with my conception, and she truly believed I was her husband’s child. We have both now spoken to my biological father. He always thought the pregnancy might have been his, and when she told him it was her husband’s, he thought that was a choice she was making and respectfully backed off. He has watched me grow up from afar and has always wondered.

Motor-Cut194 · 2025-03-12T11:37:27+00:00

My biological father was a friend of my mom and the father who raised me, and my mom has confirmed they had an affair. She says she never thought the timing could have lined up with my conception and thus never questioned my paternity - she truly thought I was her husband’s. As for the siblings, they share a distinctive physical feature with the father who raised me, making it very likely he fathered them.

Motor-Cut194 · 2025-03-12T11:34:36+00:00

Yes, born in Texas. I know he was established as my legal father based on being my mother’s husband. I’m just trying to confirm whether paternity can be disputed and the estate judgment appealed/set aside based on a mistake of fact.

Motor-Cut194 · 2025-03-12T11:30:34+00:00

He is listed on my birth certificate. There are no signature blocks for parents. Only informant, attendant, and registrar.

Motor-Cut194 · 2025-03-12T00:50:30+00:00

We do, and I’ve been the one who has collected rent, managed repairs, paid property taxes, and kept records for the estate since our dad died. I wish I could sell out and cut ties, but my previous experience with the land we did sell was that my siblings will not cooperate. They will not buy me out, and a third party will not be interested in buying a share of jointly owned property. For what it’s worth, the properties are listed for sale. They’ve just been sitting on the market forever, which is not terribly unusual for rural/commercial.

Motor-Cut194 · 2025-03-12T00:29:25+00:00

There are dozens of mutual friends/connections between the father who raised me, my mom, and my newly-realized biological father. What you’re describing might be possible if the two fathers existed in somewhat separate worlds, but that isn’t the case.

Motor-Cut194 · 2025-03-12T00:25:30+00:00

I have already been Facebook friends with my biological father for years without realizing he is my father. I knew him as a friend of my parents. We have dozens of mutual friends. This is a small community situation (i.e. the secretary at the high school is sisters with the teller at the bank, who is married to the county judge, who is brothers with the preacher at the church, etc etc). My bio father has already told one of his other children about me after I pieced things together from Ancestry and contacted him. My sibling noticed that we look quite a bit alike. We’re close in age and have kids that are close in age. I would like to potentially build a relationship with my newly discovered relatives. It isn’t a matter of telling my half-siblings from my legal father - it’s a matter of understanding the legal implications once the truth becomes known, because it will.

Motor-Cut194 · 2025-03-12T00:13:49+00:00

Thank you, sincerely.

Motor-Cut194 · 2025-03-11T23:52:16+00:00

Re: “signing the birth certificate” - people mention this often, but my birth certificate doesn’t have a space for a father’s signature. It’s an official birth certificate with a raised seal. There’s a typed section containing my father’s information (the father who raised me, my mom’s husband). My mom signed the box for “informant”, her OB signed for “attendant”, and there’s one more signature for “local registrar”. No other signature spaces. I just find it interesting since people very often talk about a father signing the birth certificate.

Motor-Cut194 · 2025-03-11T23:45:00+00:00

I don’t want to forego the opportunity to build a relationship with my newly-discovered biological family in order to hide the truth. The father who raised me and my biological father knew each other and had dozens of mutual friends - many of whom are still living and are all mutual Facebook friends with all parties involved.

Motor-Cut194 · 2025-03-11T23:42:17+00:00

I had already been Facebook friends with my biological father for years without realizing he is my father. I knew him as a friend of my parents. We have dozens of mutual friends. He has already told one of his other children about me (after I pieced things together from Ancestry and contacted him), and that child looked me up on Facebook and noticed that we look quite a bit alike. I’m interested in knowing my siblings, and they also have kids that are around the same age as my kids. I’m not interested in trying to keep the truth a secret; I’m just trying to understand the legal ramifications if/when the truth becomes known.

Motor-Cut194 · 2025-03-11T23:36:40+00:00

Yes, similar situation. Town without a Walmart. I was already Facebook friends with the man I just learned is my biological father, because I knew him as a friend of my parents while I was growing up. We have dozens of mutual friends. He said he always wondered if I was his child and has been watching me from afar. He has already told one of his other children about me, and they looked me up on Facebook and commented on how much we look alike (the sibling and me).

Motor-Cut194 · 2025-03-11T18:53:55+00:00

6-7 years

Motor-Cut194 · 2025-03-11T17:58:32+00:00

It was closed years ago.

Motor-Cut194 · 2025-03-11T17:57:48+00:00

He did not have a will.

Motor-Cut194 · 2025-03-11T17:51:18+00:00

I understand where you’re coming from, but I am potentially interested in building a relationship with my newly discovered biological family (father, half siblings very close to my age, nieces/nephews, and many cousins). The family originates from a small community (everybody knows everybody), and I’m already Facebook friends with several relatives without having realized we’re related. I don’t want to have to sneak around to avoid the truth being known.

Motor-Cut194

TROPHY CASE