Can a Married Woman Name Another Man as the Father on a Birth Certificate?
Full Question:
Answer:
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.
