If you’re a divorced parent, you probably often worry about one thing: Will custody decisions affect your child’s inheritance? In Texas, the answer is simple: Custody has nothing to do with inheritance rights.
Living situation doesn’t matter
Texas law draws a clear line between custody and inheritance. Your child can live with you full-time and still inherit from your former spouse. The state cares about legal relationships, not who lives where.
Consider this example: Your husband loses custody after a bitter divorce. He rarely sees your child. Under Texas law, your child still has full inheritance rights from his father. The custody ruling doesn’t change the legal parent-child bond.
Blood and law trump everything else
The Texas Estates Code protects children’s inheritance rights in several ways. Biological children automatically qualify. So do adopted children and those whose paternity gets established later.
The law treats all these children the same.
It doesn’t matter if Dad was absent for years or never paid child support. As long as he’s legally recognized as the father, his child can inherit.
What happens when there’s no will
Most Texans die without a will. When this happens, state law decides who gets what. Children rank high on this list — right after a surviving spouse.
Here’s how it works: If someone dies with a spouse and children, the spouse gets one-third of the deceased’s personal property. The children split the rest. Real estate gets divided differently, but children still get their share.
Custody arrangements don’t change these rules. Even if your child is living with grandparents, he still inherits the same as one living with a parent.
The paternity problem
Not all inheritance cases are straightforward. Problems arise when paternity was never legally established. Simply being listed on a birth certificate isn’t always enough.
Some fathers never acknowledge their children. Others have their paternity questioned later. In these cases, children or their guardians may need to prove paternity in court before claiming inheritance rights.
Texas courts can order DNA tests to settle these disputes. They can also look at other evidence like financial support or public acknowledgment of the child.
When to get legal help
If you are dealing with custody and inheritance questions, you should talk to an attorney. Texas probate law can be complex, especially in blended families or when paternity is disputed.
A lawyer can explain how your current custody arrangements might affect estate planning. They can also help establish paternity if needed or draft wills that reflect a parent’s wishes.
You don’t have to wait until problems arise. Avoid having to deal with bigger problems by getting legal advice early.
