TEN THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
ABOUT PATERNITY IN MICHIGAN

• State statutes recognize husbands as the natural fathers for children born during a marriage. MCL 700.2114
  
• State statutes require an Acknowledgment of Parentage form for all out-of-wedlock births signed by the mother and the named man to establish paternity. MCL 722.1003
  
• A paternity action may be filed at any time during a mother’s pregnancy or until the child reaches 18 years of age and failure to respond to paternity summons will result in a court-ordered default paternity establishment judgment. MCL 722.714
  
• The signed Acknowledgment of Parentage form is the legal basis for paternity establishment, child support, child custody, parenting time, or status of a child. MCL 722.1004
  
• Pursuant to the signed Acknowledgment of Parentage form, mothers are presumed to have custody of minor children, unless otherwise determined by the court. MCL 722.1006
  
• The mother of a child born out-of-wedlock is responsible for the support and education of her child, with or without a father’s liability. MCL 722.721
  
• An Acknowledgment of Parentage may only be revoked by the court along with sufficient evidence and under certain limited conditions, including less than one year from the initial action. MCL 722.101, MCR 2.612
  
• Accredited DNA paternity tests exceeding 99.999% profile accuracy will constitute sufficient evidence. MCL 722.716
  
• Nearly one in three (30%) men tested for paternity in out of wedlock cases are excluded as the biological father. Michigan Family Independence Agency (FIA), American Association of Blood Banks (AABB)
• Making a false paternity complaint as to the identity of a child’s father is unlawful. MCL 722.722

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