How to Draft Decree of Divorce, When a Child is Born Outside of the Marriage By the Mother

The proper way to proceed is to have the biological father execute a file an acknowledgement of paternity before the attorney general, and have it filed.

If you are able to get the Husband of the Marriage to Sign a Denial of Paternity and the Biological Father to Sign an Acknowledgement, you should have both done and attached to the decree as exhibits.

The Language to Add to the Decree is:

Findings Relating to Child Born During the Marriage

The Court finds that a child was born by the Petitioner during the marriage, but that Respondent is not the biological father of the child. Information pertaining to the identity of the child is as follows:

Name of child born: ____________ 

Home state:  Texas

Social Security number: ***-**_______

Date of Birth: July 23, 2015.

The Court finds that the biological father, ___________, of the child , _________________ filed an Acknowledgement of Paternity on August 3, 2015 as attached hereto.

The COURT FINDS that Petitioner and Respondent have signed denials that Respondent is the biological father of the child as attached hereto.

THEREFORE, the court finds that the parties of this decree do not have any children, and no children are expected.

When the Biological Father Will Not Sign an Acknowledgement of Paternity

It sometimes is the case that the biological father will not be available to sign the document.  In that case, we have had success simply stating the finding as an agreement:

THE COURT FINDS that the parties herein mutually agree that the child ___________, DOB ___________ was born of the mother, but that _____________ (husband) is not the father of the child. The court therefore finds that _______ is not the biological child of the father and will not therefore enter any further orders regarding the child as a part of this divorce suit.