Texas Family Code - Section 160.102. Definitions

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§ 160.102. DEFINITIONS.  In this chapter:                                   
		(1)  "Adjudicated father" means a man who has been 
adjudicated by a court to be the father of a child.
		(2)  "Assisted reproduction" means a method of causing 
pregnancy other than sexual intercourse.  The term includes:
			(A)  intrauterine insemination;                                              
			(B)  donation of eggs;                                                       
			(C)  donation of embryos;                                                    
			(D)  in vitro fertilization and transfer of 
embryos;  and                  
			(E)  intracytoplasmic sperm injection.                                       
		(3)  "Child" means an individual of any age whose 
parentage may be determined under this chapter.
		(4)  "Commence" means to file the initial pleading 
seeking an adjudication of parentage in a court of this state.
		(5)  "Determination of parentage" means the 
establishment of the parent-child relationship by the signing of a 
valid acknowledgment of paternity under Subchapter D or by an 
adjudication by a court.
		(6)  "Donor" means an individual who produces eggs or 
sperm used for assisted reproduction, regardless of whether the 
production is for consideration.  The term does not include:
			(A)  a husband who provides sperm or a wife who 
provides eggs to be used for assisted reproduction by the wife;  or
			(B)  a woman who gives birth to a child by means of 
assisted reproduction. 
		(7)  "Ethnic or racial group" means, for purposes of 
genetic testing, a recognized group that an individual identifies 
as all or part of the individual's ancestry or that is identified by 
other information. 
		(8)  "Genetic testing" means an analysis of an 
individual's genetic markers to exclude or identify a man as the 
father of a child or a woman as the mother of a child.  The term 
includes an analysis of one or more of the following:
			(A)  deoxyribonucleic acid;  and                                             
			(B)  blood-group antigens, red-cell antigens, 
human-leukocyte antigens, serum enzymes, serum proteins, or 
red-cell enzymes.
		(9)  "Intended parents" means individuals who enter 
into an agreement providing that the individuals will be the 
parents of a child born to a gestational mother by means of assisted 
reproduction, regardless of whether either individual has a genetic 
relationship with the child.
		(10)  "Man" means a male individual of any age.                               
		(11)  "Parent" means an individual who has established 
a parent-child relationship under Section 160.201.
		(12)  "Paternity index" means the likelihood of 
paternity determined by calculating the ratio between:
			(A)  the likelihood that the tested man is the 
father of the child, based on the genetic markers of the tested man, 
the mother of the child, and the child, conditioned on the 
hypothesis that the tested man is the father of the child;  and
			(B)  the likelihood that the tested man is not the 
father of the child, based on the genetic markers of the tested man, 
the mother of the child, and the child, conditioned on the 
hypothesis that the tested man is not the father of the child and 
that the father of the child is of the same ethnic or racial group as 
the tested man.
		(13)  "Presumed father" means a man who, by operation 
of law under Section 160.204, is recognized as the father of a child 
until that status is rebutted or confirmed in a judicial 
proceeding.
		(14)  "Probability of paternity" means the 
probability, with respect to the ethnic or racial group to which the 
alleged father belongs, that the alleged father is the father of the 
child, compared to a random, unrelated man of the same ethnic or 
racial group, expressed as a percentage incorporating the paternity 
index and a prior probability.
		(15)  "Record" means information that is inscribed on a 
tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium 
and is retrievable in a perceivable form.
		(16)  "Signatory" means an individual who 
authenticates a record and is bound by its terms.
		(17)  "Support enforcement agency" means a public 
official or public agency authorized to seek:
			(A)  the enforcement of child support orders or 
laws relating to the duty of support;
			(B)  the establishment or modification of child 
support;                   
			(C)  the determination of parentage;                                         
			(D)  the location of child-support obligors and 
their income and assets;  or
			(E)  the conservatorship of a child or the 
termination of parental rights. 

Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 821, § 1.01, eff. June 14, 
2001.    

Last modified: August 10, 2007