Texas law about paternal rights/name on birth certificate...

[smeep]

I was under the impression by leaving the "father" portion blank that it would mean that in order for ex to have ANY rights to the baby he would have to go to court to establish paternity. Meaning that if he were to physically take my child I could call the police on him for kidnapping, point blank.

However, a couple people have told me that in their states if the father portion is left blank then he can just take the child and there's nothing the police can do about it unless it's proven that he's NOT the father. Now this sounds absolutely ridiculous to me (but it's not like all custody/parental laws make sense anyway), though one of the women said that this happened to her sister (however, that doesn't mean the police were actually following the law - it could be that they didn't know). 

Anyway... so does anyone have any insight on this in the state of Texas? Not that I plan on giving him the chance to run off with the baby (I hope he stays far, far away forever) but it wouldn't hurt to at least know the law.

[Kwan*Yin]

If a man is not on the birth certificate then he can not prove he is the father and if you file kidnapping charges then he is merely a man who claims to be the father kidnapping a child that he can't prove is his. It is total heresay for a man to say he is the father without proof. Were any of those people married? Because that does make a difference.

[montlake]

This is from the TX Attorney General's website

If you are not married to the mother of your child, you must establish paternity – either by signing an Acknowledgment of Paternity (AOP) with the mother of your child or by going to court – in order to have any legal rights. A father’s name on the child’s birth certificate does not establish a legal relationship.

[smeep]

Thank you! That's what I thought. So either that woman's state is just plain crazy or the cops don't know anything (I'd guess the second is more likely). But this is Texas and you never know for sure so I had to check.