Texas Estates Code Sec. 201.052: Paternal Inheritance

This section defines when a parent-child relationship exists for inheritance purposes through the paternal line. It lists several ways a child is treated as the child of a father for intestacy purposes, provides a special rule for children with intended parents under a validated gestational agreement, and supplies a probate-court procedure for establishing inheritance rights when the child is not otherwise presumed to be the decedent’s child.

The Statutory Rule

Sec. 201.052. PATERNAL INHERITANCE.

(a) For purposes of inheritance, a child is the child of the child's biological father if:

(1) the child is born under circumstances described by Section 160.201, Family Code;

(2) the child is adjudicated to be the child of the father by court decree under Chapter 160, Family Code;

(3) the child was adopted by the child's father; or

(4) the father executed an acknowledgment of paternity under Subchapter D, Chapter 160, Family Code, or a similar statement properly executed in another jurisdiction.

(a-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), if a child has intended parents, as defined by Section 160.102, Family Code, under a gestational agreement validated under Subchapter I, Chapter 160, Family Code, the child is the child of the intended father and not the biological father unless the biological father is also the intended father.

(b) A child described by Subsection (a) or (a-1) and the child's issue shall inherit from the child's father and the child's paternal kindred, both descendants, ascendants, and collateral kindred in all degrees, and they may inherit from the child and the child's issue.

(c) A person may petition the probate court for a determination of right of inheritance from a decedent if the person:

(1) claims to be a biological child of the decedent and is not otherwise presumed to be a child of the decedent; or

(2) claims inheritance through a biological child of the decedent who is not otherwise presumed to be a child of the decedent.

(d) If under Subsection (c) the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the purported father was the biological father of the child:

(1) the child is treated as any other child of the decedent for purposes of inheritance; and

(2) the child and the child's issue may inherit from the child's paternal kindred, both descendants, ascendants, and collateral kindred in all degrees, and they may inherit from the child and the child's issue.

(e) This section does not permit inheritance by a purported father of a child, recognized or not, if the purported father's parental rights have been terminated.

(f) This section does not permit inheritance by a child for whom no right of inheritance accrues under Section 201.056 or by the child's issue.

Explanation

What it does: This section establishes inheritance through the paternal line by defining when a child is treated as the child of a father for intestacy purposes and by providing a mechanism to prove that relationship in probate court when it is not otherwise presumed.

Ways a child qualifies as the father’s child: A child is treated as the child of the father for inheritance purposes if the relationship is established through one of the listed Family Code pathways (such as a presumption, adjudication, adoption by the father, or a valid acknowledgment of paternity, including an equivalent document from another jurisdiction).

Gestational agreement rule: If the child has intended parents under a validated gestational agreement under the Texas Family Code, the child is treated as the child of the intended father, not the biological father, unless the biological father is also the intended father.

Reciprocal inheritance: Once the parent-child relationship is recognized under this section, inheritance rights run both directions:

• the child (and the child’s descendants) can inherit from the father and paternal kindred; and
• the father and paternal relatives can inherit from the child (and the child’s descendants), subject to the rest of Chapter 201.

Probate petition procedure: If the claimant is not otherwise presumed to be the decedent’s child, the claimant (or someone claiming through the claimant) may petition the probate court for a determination of inheritance rights. If the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the decedent was the biological father, the child is treated as any other child of the decedent for inheritance purposes.

Termination limitation: This section does not allow inheritance by a purported father if the father’s parental rights have been terminated.

Additional limitation: This section does not create inheritance rights where inheritance is barred under Sec. 201.056.

Practice note: This section addresses inheritance through the paternal line. The parallel maternal provision is Sec. 201.051.