For complete results, select the county where you live or where your case is filed:
Common Questions about Revoking Paternity Established by Marriage when You Are the Legal/Presumed Father
Contents
These are common questions about revoking paternity established by marriage for the legal/presumed father.
Questions about Revoking Paternity Established by Marriage
You may want to ask the judge to revoke your paternity if a child was born or conceived during your marriage, but the child is not your biological child. Under Michigan law, you are automatically the child’s legal father if you were married to the mother when the child was born or conceived. To ask the judge to un-do your status as legal father, you must file a Motion or Complaint to Determine Child Born Out of Wedlock.
If you do not do this, you will remain the child’s legal father. This means you will continue to have all the legal rights of a parent. If you and the child’s mother divorce or get a separate maintenance, you will have the ability to ask the court for custody and parenting time. You will also have the responsibilities of a parent, such as possibly paying child support.
You do not have to know who the child’s biological father is for the judge to revoke your paternity. The judge may ask the child’s mother who the biological father is to determine if a new legal father can be named, but you are not required to know.
You can file your Motion or Complaint to Determine Child Born Out of Wedlock at any time. However, it may be more difficult if you wait until the child is three or older. For example, if you wait until the child is three or older, you must file your motion or complaint in a divorce or separate maintenance case between you and the child’s mother.
If the child is older than three and you do not want to get a divorce or separate maintenance from your wife, you can ask the judge to extend your time for filing. It can be very difficult to prove the things required to get a time extension. Read the article I Am a Legal Father, and I Need to Revoke Paternity of a Child Born During My Marriage for more information.
Also, if you wait to file until the child is older, the judge may be less willing to revoke your paternity. The judge can refuse to revoke your paternity if the judge finds it would be against the child’s best interests to do so. In making this decision, the judge can consider how long you were aware that you are not the child’s father. The judge can also consider the age of the child and how revoking your paternity might affect the child. To find out more about the factors the judge can consider, read the article I Am a Legal Father, and I Need to Revoke Paternity of a Child Born During My Marriage.
To ask the judge to revoke your paternity of a child born or conceived during your marriage, you must file a Motion or Complaint to Determine Child Born Out of Wedlock. Whether you need a motion or complaint depends on if you have an existing family court case in which you can file your motion. You can use the Do-It-Yourself Revoke Paternity Established by Marriage tool to prepare the forms you need.
If the child is three years old or older, you can file a Motion to Determine Child Born Out of Wedlock in a divorce or separate maintenance case between you and the child’s mother.
If the child is younger than three, you can file a motion in an existing family court case involving child support, parenting time, or custody of the child. For example, you can file a motion in a divorce case between you and your wife. Or you can file a Complaint to Determine Child Born Out of Wedlock to start a new case.
The judge can order genetic testing to determine if you are the child’s biological father. If the test results show that you are not the child’s father, the judge will then decide whether to revoke your paternity. The judge does not have to automatically revoke your paternity if you are not the biological father. The judge may consider whether it is in the child’s best interests to revoke your paternity.
If the judge finds it is in the child’s best interests, the judge can sign an order revoking your paternity. If the judge finds it would not be in the child’s best interests, the judge can deny your request. If this happens, you would remain the child’s legal father.
Read the article I Am a Legal Father, and I Need to Revoke Paternity of a Child Born During My Marriage for more information about the best interest factors.
The judge may order you and the other party or parties to complete DNA testing (also called genetic testing). Do what the judge’s written order says. The order will most likely include who must pay for the cost of genetic testing, when testing must be finished, and when the results must be filed with the court.
The judge may also include instructions about where to go for testing. If not, you can search online for genetic testing or DNA testing in Michigan. Search a company’s website (for example, on the “About” page) to make sure it is accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB).
The judge’s clerk or secretary or the Friend of the Court may also be able to tell you where you can go for genetic testing.
DNA testing can cost around $400 or $500. The judge may order you and the other party (or parties) to split the cost. The judge can also order one person to pay for the entire cost of testing.
Your name will not be removed automatically from the birth certificate. You must mail a completed Application to Correct or Change a Michigan Birth Record to Michigan Vital Records Changes. You will also need to include the court order revoking your paternity and a $50 check or money order. Read the application form for more information.
If you are currently being charged child support and the judge revokes your paternity, the judge can set aside your child support obligation going back to the date you filed your Motion or Complaint to Determine Child Born Out of Wedlock.
Child support debt (arrears) will be treated differently. If you owe child support debt from before you filed your Motion or Complaint to Determine Child Born Out of Wedlock, you will still owe this debt even if the judge revokes your paternity. The child’s mother may be able to waive (forgive) some or all of this debt. You can also file a motion asking for relief from the prior support order.
If you owe child support debt (arrears) from before you filed your Motion or Complaint to Determine Child Born Out of Wedlock, you will still owe this debt even if the judge revokes your paternity. However, the child’s mother may be able to waive (forgive) some or all of this debt, depending on whether you owe support to her or to the state. You can also file a motion asking for relief from the prior support order. Michigan Legal Help cannot help you prepare this motion. You may want to consider contacting a lawyer for help.
If you were never married to the child’s mother, this toolkit is not for you. You might still be the child’s legal father if you signed an Affidavit of Parentage for the child or if there is a court order naming you the child’s legal father (called an Order of Filiation).
If you are the legal father for one of these other reasons, you can still ask the court to revoke your paternity. However, the court process and the forms you need will be different. Michigan Legal Help does not currently have information or forms for your situation, but will soon. You may want to consider contacting a lawyer to help you.