The Better Chancery Practice Blog

I posted here about the new statutory procedure to disestablish paternity.

One of the interesting aspects of the new code section is that it enumerates the reasons that would disqualify a father from attempting to prove he is not the father.

The flip side of the coin, then, is that these are the bases that conclusively establish paternity and preclude the mother or anyone else from denying his parentage. From the statute, the man is the father if he did any one of the following:

(a) Married or cohabited with the mother and assumed parental obligation and support of the child after having knowledge that he was not the biological father;

(b) consented to be named as father on the birth certificate or signed an acknowledgment of paternity and failed to withdraw within the time periods mandated by MCA §§ 93-9-9 and 93-9-28, unless he can prove fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact;

(c) signed a stipulated agreement of paternity that has been approved by order of the court;

(d) signed a stipulated agreement of support that has been approved by order of the court after having knowledge that he is not the biological father;

(e) had been named as legal father or ordered to pay support after he declined to undergo genetic testing; or

(f) failed to appear for a genetic testing draw pursuant to a valid court order.

I am not aware of any other place where these bases for paternity have before been listed in such a handy form.