Paternity Issues Aren't Going Away Soon

 Birthrate of Unwed Mothers Continues to Rise

In 2010, 40.8% of all births were to 'unwed females'  according to the National Center for Health Statistics.  They reported that "the proportion of births to unmarried women has increased without interruption from 1997 through 2009.  This level comparies with 33.2 percent in 2000, and 18.4 percent in 1980.  Within age groups, 87 percent of births to teenagers and 62 percent of births to women aged 20-24 were nonmarital.  One in five births to women aged 30 and over were to unmarried women."

In Michigan, there were 48,406 births to unmarried women in 2009 (the most recently reported statistics of births / unwed females).  25,724 of these birth were report to be with 'white' females; 17,669 to 'black' females; and 4,067 to 'hispanic' females.

With these kinds of statistics, it is clear that the issues involved with paternity are not going away soon; likely never.   Even with the 'legal father' being identified and acknowledged by an Affidavit of Parentage,  the legal issues of 'legal & physical custody,' 'visitation / parenting time,' 'child support,' and the other child-related issues of a new-born child will need to be addressed for literally each of these children.

As the caption says: 'Paternity Issues Aren't Going Away Soon.'  So long as we continue to have children with unmarried parents, there will always be legal issues that need to be resolved -ie.  determination of 'legal father,' child-custody, visitation / parenting time, child-support, and other child-related issues of a new born child.

Cohabitation Women Equals More Babies

Which Means More 'Paternity' Issues

For years now, it has been reported that less people are getting married, and therefore there are less divorces.  What these news reports don't explain is that though less people may be getting married / divorced, they are still having children.  Children born without the benefit of marriage creates more lawsuits involving the issue of 'paternity.'  In fact,  when cohabitating  couples break up, there frequently will have most of the same issues as their married friends.  The only difference is that they don't need to get 'divorced,' because they were never married.  They still have issues involving the 'distribution of property,' AND 'child related issues' such as child custody, visitation/parenting time, child support, etc.  Bottomline, the divorce lawyers are still being kept busy by cohabitating couples who terminate their relationship.

USA TODAY recently published an article entitled 'Cohabitating Women Having More Babies.'  The article provided recently relased statistics showing that there were 3.6 million estimated national births that were 'Unmarried, Not Living with a Partner.'  Of these 3.6 million births, only 33% were intended; 67% were unintended births.

Additionally, there were 5.0 million estimated 'Unmarried, Living with a Partner.'  Of these 5.0 million births, 49% were intended; 51% were unintended births.

The 'take-away' here is that though marriages may be trending downward, couples are still having children.   Children born without the benefit of marriage will likely involve 'paternity issues' that relate to 'Affidavits of Parentage,' 'DNA testing,' 'Orders of Filiation,' 'Child Custody, Visitation/Parenting Time, Child Support,' etc.  These 'paternity issues' are not trending downward, but fast becoming the new normal for our society.

Adding a Father to the Birth Certificate

To often, Father's think that signing an Affidavit of Parentage form is all that is needed to be a 'legal father' of a child, and that there is nothing further for him to do.  Wrong!!!

Besides the issues of 'custody,' 'child support,' and 'visitation rights' that all Father's must deal with AFTER the Affidavit of Parentage form is signed, there is at least one more major issue:

If you are lucky, the Father and the Mother will co-sign an Affidavit of Parentage at the hospital, and the hospital staff will see that it is properly registered with the Central Paternity Registry (see below, for the address). Once the Affidavit is registered, the birth certificate will be issue with the Father and Mother's name on it.

Adding a Father to the Birth Certificate !

The problem occurs for many Fathers, when he is not available to sign the Affidavit at the hospital, and the Affidavit is filed . . . and the birth certificate is issued without 'any Father' listed, or 'another male' is listed as the Father.

Application to Correct a Certificate of Birth

A Father needs to understand that 'birth certificates' are not automatically changed when an Affidavit of Parentage is filed.  The one exception is when the Affidavit is completed in the hospital soon after the birth of the child, AND BEFORE the birth has been reqistered.

Changes to a registered birth record can be requested based upon a propertly completed Affidavit, BUT the birth record correction must be requested on a separate Application to Correct a Certificate of Birth.  These Applications to correct a birth certificate are available from the office of the county clerk, and from the Office of the State Registrar -ie:

Central Paternity Registry
Office of the State Registrar
Michigan Department of Community Health
P.O. Box 30195
3423 North M.L. King Blvd
Lansing, MI 48909

A birth certificate can be changed to reflect the father listed on this Affidavit of Parentage if no other man is recorded on the birth certificate as the child's father.  Should a conflict exist, a court determination of paternity may become necessary.

IF you Fathered a Child With a Married Woman

Michigan law presumes that a husband is the biological father of his wife's children.  Too frequently, a married woman gives birth to a child that is fathered by someone other than her husband.  Until recently, the biological father had 'no standing' to seek paternity rights with his child. In other words, he had no right to go to court and obtain a court order dealing with custody or visitation/parenting time. 

'The Revocation of Parentage Act'

SB 557, The Revocation of Parentage Act, dealing with paternity and revocation of parentage, signed by the governor on June 14, 2012, creates a new act, Public Act 159 of 2012, with immediate effect and may be read on the Legislature's website here ...  http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2011-2012/publicact/pdf/2012-PA-0159.pdf

This act gives biological fathers the right [provided certain specific circumstances exist] to establish parentage when a child is conceived or born during a marriage, where the 'biological father' IS NOT the husband.  Until this law, it was almost impossible for the biological father to get a court order saying that he was the legal & biological father of his child.

Why 'HURRY ?'

Because under normal circumstances, this new law allows paternity to be established IF it is done during the first three years of a child's birth or within 1 year after the date that the 'acknowledgment of parentage' was signed, whichever is later.  However, there is a 'waiver' of these time requirements IF (this is extremely important...) an action is filed on or before 1 year after the effective date of this act - in other words, not later than June 12, 2013.

The 'take away' here is that if you fathered a child who was married at the time (not your wife) in the last 18 years AND you want to step forward and claim paternity of the child, you now have the ability to do so.  BUT you need to take legal action prior to June 12, 2013.  After June 12, 2013, the 'time requirements' of the new statute will strictly apply.

If you are in need of an attorney to help you establish, or dis-establish paternity, telephone Bob Guyot today at (231) 947-0808.  See his website http://guyotlaw.com    

     

Paternity - How to Establish Paternity in Michigan

There are many ways to 'establish paternity' in the State of Michigan.

If the mother of a child is married when the baby is born, her husband is assumed to be the biological father, unless a court order or judgment (such as a 'divorce judgment') says otherwise.

If the mother has been divorced or widowed for less than ten months, her husband at the time of conception is assumed to be the father, unless a court order or judgment says otherwise.

Two Common Methods of Establishing Paternity

If the mother is not married from the time of conception, through birth, paternity can be established by both parents voluntarily signing an Affidavit of Parentage, pursuant to the Acknolwedgment of Paternity Statute, and filing that Affidavit with the Michigan Department of Community Health's Office of the State Registrar.

Paternity can also be established by filing an action with the Court under the Michign Paternity Statute.  Either the mother or father may file a Court action to establish paternity.  If the child is receiving public asistance, the Michigan Family Independence Agency, via the local county prosecutor's office will help the mother file pleadings with the Court to establish paternity.  DNA tests are usually ordered by the Court to help determine paternity of the child.

If you are in need of an attorney to help you establish, or dis-establish paternity, telephone Bob Guyot today at (231) 947-0808.  See his website http://guyotlaw.com  

WHY Establish Paternity ?

Even if the parents have an informal agreement with the child's mother or father relating to custody, the parenting plan, and child support, it is important to formalize the arrangment by filing a joint stipulation, and having it incorporated into a judical Court Order.

I frequently receive phone calls from father's who have had a long-term relationship with a woman, who recently decided to terminate the relationship and move back to her parents ... in another state.  Panic has set in ... what can he do???

From a legal standpoint, the only recourse is for him to file a pleading with the local court asking the court to determine that HE is the biological father of the child -ie. establish 'paternity,' and various other issues such as legal & physical custody, visitation/parenting time, child support, etc.

If you are the father, you need a Court Order that clearly says that you are the biological father of your child.  If you do not have a Court Order that establishes paternity, you do not have the ability to have physical or legal custody of your child, nor visitation with your child, nor insist on a 'parenting plan.'  You have no legal basis to prevent the mother from leaving the state with the child.

If you are the mother, you need a Court Order to establish who the father is in order for you to seek child support.

Without first 'establishing paternity' of the child, neither parent can petition the Court to address issues involving their child.

If you are in need of an attorney to help you establish, or dis-establish paternity, telephone Bob Guyot today at (231) 947-0808.  See his website http://guyotlaw.com  

What is meant by the word "Paternity?"

'Paternity' is the process whereby a specific male individual is determined to be, or not be the biological father of a child. Depending on the specific circumstances, the biological father may, or may not be determined to be the legal father.

A 'paternity action' is a lawsuit involving a child born outside of marriage.  In other words, the mother and father of the child are not married -ie. thus, you often see the phrase 'a child born out of wedlock.'

A 'paternity action' determines who the mother is, and who the father of a child is.

A 'paternity' determination is essential for protecting your rights, whether you are the putative father, or the mother.  Establishing paternity brings certain rights, including the right to receiving child support, and rights to custody & visitation (called 'parenting time' in Michigan).

Similarly, for a male who is alleged to be the biological father of a chld, effectively refuting an allegation of paternity can save him from paying years of child support for someone else's child, or from visitation with a non-biological parent.

If you are in need of an attorney to help you establish, or dis-establish paternity, telephone Bob Guyot today at (231) 947-0808.  See his website http://guyotlaw.com