When a relationship ends poorly, it’s not uncommon for the mother to keep the father in the dark about her pregnancy. He is not someone she wants in her life. Dad learns of the child’s existence years later and wants to be involved. How long does it take a father to prove his paternity? A year or three? Is there more? Due to the existence of the revocation of paternity rule, a father may decide against taking action.
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In the first three years of a child’s life, a father has the right to revoke fatherhood. Most responsible people choose to build a relationship and prove paternity. The father may bring a DP lawsuit or bring a motion to establish paternity through his counsel. Parental rights and parenting time are not subject to any time limits. The courts would favor establishing the parent-child relationship.
Revealing The Importance of Establishing Paternity
It’s critical for a child born to parents who are not married to establish a legal father. It grants the child the same privileges and rights as a child of married parents.
These privileges and advantages include:
Identity. Children should be familiar with both of their parents. The child gains a sense of identity as a result.
Family ties. A relationship with both parents is something that each child is entitled to. The child might learn about both sides of the family. The child will have a sense of belonging because of this.
Financial support. State statutes require both parents to provide support for the children. Even if the parents don’t live together, they can still split the cost of raising the child. When both parents contribute financially, the chances of all of the children’s requirements being satisfied increase.
Benefits. A child is eligible for support from both parents. These may consist of:
[a] Inheritance rights
[b] Health and life insurance
[c] Social Security
[d] Pensions
[e] Veterans’ benefits
Benefits are crucial in the event that a parent passes away or becomes handicapped.
Medical information. If there are any health issues in the family, it can be crucial to understand both biological parents’ medical history.
The Truth About Paternity At Birth
The mother’s husband is the child’s legal father if the mother and father are already married at the time of the child’s birth or the woman becomes pregnant.
If the parents are not married, they must take some action to prove paternity. When parents are not married, there are two basic approaches to prove paternity:
[a] Parents who are not married can voluntarily establish paternity.
This indicates that they consent to naming the child’s father; or a child born to an unmarried mother can willingly have his paternity established by his parents. They can confirm the man is the biological father by signing a paper stating as much. Even if he is married to someone else, the man can still sign the document.
The Affidavit of Parentage or “affidavit,” is the formal name for this document. It is also referred to as AOP. The Affidavit of Parentage is the DCH-0682 form.
They are the child’s legal parents if both unmarried parents sign the affidavit and it is witnessed or notarized by a qualified witness or notary. To prove paternity, no one needs to visit their local family court.
[b] Parents who are not married might seek their local family court to assist in proving paternity. Paternity testing involves using DNA.
After the baby is born, a DNA paternity test is conducted. Parents shouldn’t sign the affidavit if they are unsure of the biological father’s identity. Parents should speak with the Office of Child Support instead to request assistance with DNA paternity testing.
If a man is a child’s biological father, it can be determined by DNA paternity testing. A further step is required to make the man the legal father if the test reveals he is the biological father:
[c] If the parents go to their local family court, the judge will rule that the man is the child’s legitimate father.
What is the implication of signing the affidavit of parentage?
The affidavit is an official document. Parents acknowledge the following when they sign the affidavit:
[a] Unless the local family court or the parents reach a written agreement to the contrary, the mother has custody of the kid. When one parent is granted custody, the child will reside with that person.
[b] Either parent may submit a request for parenting time or custody at their local family court.
[c] If one parent wishes for the kid to be adopted by another person, the other parent will be informed.
[d] The child needs the support of both parents. Parents must abide by a court judgment for child support.
After the child is born, the parents can either sign the affidavit there or at a later date, any place. Parents must have a legitimate photo ID on them when they sign the affidavit. In addition, a qualified witness or notary public must sign the affidavit. The parent’s signatures and photo IDs will be verified by this individual.
If the affidavit is signed immediately after the child is born at the hospital, the original birth certificate will name both parents as the parents. The parents’ signatures can usually be witnessed by or notarized by hospital staff. The parents won’t be paying anything.
Parents must obtain a certified witness or notary to sign the affidavit if it is signed later. The hospital had already produced the birth certificate. Therefore, the parents will need to request the father’s name be added to the birth certificate from the state vital records office. To make this alteration to the birth certificate, parents must pay a fee.
Here is another important thing. The parents by signing the affidavit of parentage waive the following rights:
[1] Order a paternity DNA test.
[2] Have a court-appointed attorney represent one or both of them in a paternity case.
[3] Have the biological father’s identity determined at trial.
Your Window In Establishing Paternity
The establishment and revocation of paternity are subject to certain rules. You can avail of this rule first and foremost, within one year after the day the AOP was signed, or within three years of the child’s birth, whichever is later, a motion for revocation of paternity must be submitted.
The filing of extension for revocation of paternity can only be allowed under the following circumstances:
[a] Error in fact
[b] Newly obtained evidence that, with appropriate diligence, could not have been located sooner
[b] Fraud
[c] Misrepresentation or improper behavior, or
[d] Duress
If you suspect you have a claim for paternity, you can refer to the following laws in Michigan for making your case:
The Summary Support and Paternity Act
Under the Summary Support and Paternity Act, a Title IV-D Agency may submit a paternity action to the court. This enables the organization to identify a parent-child relationship and locate a source of financial support for children receiving public assistance. Once paternity has been confirmed, the court will order the father to pay support and may also award custody and parenting time.
The Michigan Paternity Act
In situations where the claimed father denies the parent-child relationship with a child, the Michigan Paternity Act outlines a process for establishing paternity. Legal action is therefore necessary to establish the foundation of the parent-child relationship. According to the Michigan Paternity Act, the plaintiff must file a paternity complaint stating the man she believes to be the child’s father and must claim whether the child was conceived under specific circumstances. The following people are eligible to bring a paternity suit under the Michigan Paternity Act: the mother, the parent of a child born outside of marriage, and the Department of Health and Human Services or DHHS.
The Acknowledgment of Parentage Act
The Acknowledgement of Parentage Act permits parties to prove paternity through written acknowledgment in cases when they are in agreement regarding the matter of paternity. An acknowledgment of paternity is signed by the mother and father and submitted to the state registrar. However, this is not the end of the process for a father seeking rights to custody and parenting time. According to the Affidavit of Parentage, the mother has custody of the child up until a court decides otherwise. Therefore, in order to obtain legally binding rights to custody and parenting time of that child, a father who has signed the Affidavit of Parentage must do so after filing a Complaint for Custody.
The Genetic Parentage Act
The Genetic Parentage Act also allows for the use of genetic testing to determine parentage. As a result, a DNA sample from the supposed father will be tested by an accredited laboratory, and if the results show a 99% or greater possibility of paternity, the person is recognized as the child’s father. Unmarried couples may opt to have the treatment, which is voluntary. If the issue of paternity is unresolved and no adoption proceedings have been initiated, couples who request the procedure under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act may also be able to establish paternity by genetic testing.
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