How can a man disprove paternity before child is born?
Full Question:
Answer:
Since the pregnancy is happening in Michigan, this answer will focus on the paternity laws of that state. Michigan Paternity Law can only oversee cases where the child is born out of wedlock. This is a specific term in Michigan: it means that the during the child's conception up until birth, the mother was unmarried the entire time. A Michigan court can declare that a putative father seeking parental rights lacks standing to bring the action where a child was born to a mother while she was married to another man, even though a blood test indicated with 99.99 percent probability that the putative father was the actual father.
In Michigan, if a woman is married, the husband's name will be put on the birth certificate. However, if a paternity action determines that another man is the father, the birth certificate may be amended to show the biological father's name and child support may be ordered to be paid by the biological father. In Michigan, a complaint for paternity is filed in the county where the mother or child resides, regardless of where the child was conceived.
Please see the following MI statute:
333.2824 Registering name of husband as father of child; registering
surname of child; consent; acknowledgment of parentage; designating
surname of child; entering name of father and surname of child on birth
certificate; father not named on birth registration; utilization of
assisted reproductive technology; reference to legitimacy or illegitimacy
prohibited.
Sec. 2824. (1) The name of the husband at the time of conception or, if
none, the husband at birth shall be registered as the father of the
child. The surname of the child shall be registered as designated by the
child's parents.
(2) If the child's mother was not married at the time of conception or
birth, the name of the father shall not be entered on the certificate of
birth without the written consent of the mother and without the
completion, and filing with the state registrar, of an acknowledgment of
parentage by the mother and the individual to be named as the father. The
acknowledgment of parentage shall be completed in the manner provided in
the acknowledgment of parentage act. For a certificate of birth completed
under this subsection and upon the written request of both parents, the
surname of the child shall be designated by the child's parents.
(3) If the name of the child's father cannot be shown under subsection
(1) or (2), the child shall be given the surname designated by the
mother.
(4) If the paternity of a child is determined by a court of competent
jurisdiction, the name of the father shall be entered on the certificate
of birth as found and ordered by the court. The surname of the child
shall be entered on the certificate of birth as designated by the child's
mother.
(5) If the child's father is not named on the birth registration, no
other information about the father shall be entered on the registration.
(6) A child conceived by a married woman with consent of her husband
following the utilization of assisted reproductive technology is
considered to be the legitimate child of the husband and wife.
(7) After May 30, 1979, a birth certificate shall not contain a
reference to the legitimacy or illegitimacy of a child.
But a man who suspects he is the father of a child may bring a paternity action in the circuit court. If the child is not born at the time set for trial, the case, unless the defendant mother or defendant father consents to trial, shall be postponed until the child is born.
This court procedure, which includes the necessary DNA testing, can be use to prove or disprove paternity.
Unfortunately, the state of Michigan has abolished any cause of action based upon alienation of affection which was used by an "injured" spouse when the other spouse cheats and the injured spouse wanted to make a claim against the person who interefered with their marriage.
