How does a natural father of minor child obtain rights when he was not married to the mother before the child was born?

How does a natural father of minor child obtain rights when he was not married to the mother before the child was born?

Assuming you are not married under Michigan law when the child is born the natural father of the child ordinarily has no custody rights unless action is taken.  Placing his name on the birth certificate has no legal significance.  Prior to the enactment of the Revocation of Paternity Act which went into effect on June 12, 2012 there were only two ways the father of a child born out of wedlock could have obtained custody and/or parenting time rights.

The first way was if a paternity case was filed.  Issues pertaining to custody and parenting time can be resolved in a paternity case.  If an affidavit of parentage had been executed then a paternity lawsuit should not have been filed because the issue of whether the father is the child’s parent had been resolved by the properly executed and filed affidavit of parentage.

The second way was if both parents had executed an affidavit of parentage.  Once the affidavit was properly executed by both parents and notarized the mother of the child would  have custody.  However, the father may file a child custody and parenting time action.  If this is done the court will hear the case and make custody and parenting time decisions that will be binding on both parties.

Interestingly, under Michigan law if the mother had married another person before the child was born and the child was born while they are married the new spouse would have parental rights to the child (assuming the new spouse does not contest his or her status as the child’s parent) and the actual  natural father of the child would have had no rights to the child at all. 

This changed with the enactment of the Revocation of Paternity which allows a natural father to file an action wherein, at the discretion of the court, according to the procedures set forth in the statute and in case law, the court may find that the natural father of the child is the parent.  There are a number of hurdles to overcome and if you are confronted with this situation you should obtain the advice of an attorney.  There are also strict time limits for taking certain actions.

Please feel free to contact me by phone or email if you would like more information.  I offer a free phone conference to those contacting me.

Due to the economic climate in Michigan and the number of inquiries I have a second web site, MichiganCollectionAttorney.com. We represent debtors and creditors.  The site can assist people handling their own lawsuits understand some important issues. 

Robert D. Mouradian

Attorney at Law