Michigan’s laws for determining who was – or was not – a child’s father had long been a complicated, counter-intuitive mess. On June 12, 2012, a new law – the Revocation of Paternity Act – stepped into the breach to try to clean things up. As its name suggests, it established new legal procedures for reversing a determination that a particular person was a child’s father. The Act also set forth new ways to legally establish that a particular person was a child’s father. The intricacies of how these new procedures will play out in the courts is still being determined, but it is important for anyone facing an establishment or revocation of paternity issue to understand the basic structure of the Act. In a series of blog posts, we will seek to set forth this structure.

The (hopefully more helpful) terminology

Part of what made the old body of law regarding paternity confusing was the unclear terminology it used when referencing the potential dad – or dads – at issue. The Act has tried to resolve this lack of clarity by explicitly defining four separate categories:

1. Acknowledged father: A man who has signed an Acknowledgment of Parentage;
2. Affiliated father: A man that a court has determined is a particular child’s father;
3. Alleged father: A man who may have fathered the child at issue; and
4. Presumed father: A man who was married to the child’s mother at the timie that the child was conceived or born.

In analyzing your case, it is important to determine which category each of the people involved fall under.

How can you revoke paternity under the Act?

In terms of determining who is not the father of a particular child, the Act sets forth procedures to do the following:

1. Set aside an Acknowledgment of Parentage;
2. Set aside a court order finding that a particular person is a child’s father; or
3. Overturn a presumption that a particular person is a child’s father because he was married to the child’s mother when the child was conceived or born.

Can’t Find An Answer to Your Question about the Revocation of Paternity Act?

Next time, we will dig further into the nuts and bolts of how the Act works. However, if you would like to discuss any issue having to do with paternity, please call our office and Michigan family law and divorce attorneys Carlo J. Martina and Peter G. Bissett can answer your questions. Mr. Martina and Mr. Bissett can also represent you in all family law and divorce proceedings to ensure your rights and interests are protected.

Call Michigan divorce lawyers Carlo J. Martina and Peter G. Bissett today at (734) 254-1140 to schedule a consultation.