If you are father to a minor child, that child needs support. Taking care of that child is the right thing to do. Failure to pay court ordered support will cause you to no longer have a clean credit report. Paternity must be established before child support is ordered and collected. Paternity can be established in a number of ways:
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Acknowledged Father – The biological father of a child born to unmarried parents for whom paternity is established by either the admission of the father or the agreement of the parents.
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Presumed Father – Unless proven otherwise in court, a man is presumed to be a child’s father if any of the following are true:
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The man was married (or attempted to marry, even if marriage was invalid) to the mother when the child was conceived or born (in some states, unless separated).
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The man and mother married after birth and agreed either to have his name on the birth certificate or to support the child.
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The man welcomed the child into his home and held the child out to be his own.
NOTE: In some states presumed paternity is conclusive, meaning even with contradictory blood tests can not be disproven.
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Alleged Father – An unmarried man who impregnated the mother is often referred to as the alleged or unwed father. If he acknowledges, or a court proves, that he is the father then he is responsible for support and has rights to visitation and to seek custody.
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Equitable Father – In Michigan and Wisconsin, a man who is not a legal parent (neither biological or adoptive) may be granted visitation or custody of a child when:
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A close relationship develops between the father-figure and child,
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and where they consider themselves father and child,
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or the mother encouraged this relationship.
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