Missouri Paternity Rights -Putative Father Registry

Are you the father of an unborn child or a very recently born child and not married to the natural mother?  Do you know that you could lose your rights to this child if you do not actively acknowledge that this child or unborn child is yours?  Well, you could.  Under Missouri law a man may lose all rights to his child unless he acknowledges paternity by registering his acnowledgment of the child with the Putative Father Registry; by both mother and father signing an Affidavit Acknowledging Paternity; or through court action.  Every unmarried father needs to be aware of each of these actions.

Under the Putative Father Registry the man files a Notice of Intent to Claim Paternity and "officially" acknowledges or claims he is the father of a certain child and his name is put into the registry.  The man may file before the child is born or he may file within 15 days after the child is born.  This time period is critical.  If the man does not file during this stated time period, the child could be put up for adoption and the man does not have to receive notification of it.  Failure to file before the child's birth or within 15 days after the birth waives the man's right to withhold consent to the adoption.  There are limited exceptions to this.  If the man was led to believe by the mother's misrepresentations or fraud that (1) she was not pregnant when in fact she was; (2) she terminated the pregnancy when in fact the baby was born; or (3) the child was not born alive when in fact it was; and the man filed with the Putative Father Registry within 15 days of discovering the misrepresentations or fraud, a court could set aside the adoption. 

The Putative Father Registry does not establish legal paternity of the child.  There are other steps that do this.  However, it does create the legal notice of a man's claim to be the father.  The man's name is not added to the child's birth certificate through this registry.  The man must do that through the Bureau of Vital Records with an Affidavit Acknowledging Paternity or through court action. 

A man may revoke his registration on the Putative Father Registry at any time.  He must also notify the registry of any address changes.  Be aware that any un-revoked filing may be used as evidence in any proceeding in which it may be relevant (except by the man).

The Affidavit Acknowledging Paternity may be completed and signed by both the mother and father any time after the child's birth.    When this is filed with the Bureau of Vital Records the father's name is added to the child's birth certificate and he becomes the legal father of the child.  This Affidavit Acknowledging Paternity is legally binding and has the same effect as a court order establishing paternity and can be used as a basis for entering a child support order against the father.

The other method is through court proceedings.  A man may file a paternity action or a combination paternity/custody/visitation/child support action with the proper court.  In this action the man may request that the court order genetic testing of the man, mother and child to determine if the man is the natural or biological father of the child.  While this can be done before the child is born, I do not know of a court that will order the testing before the child is born.  The risk is too great to the baby and the mother.  The results of the genetic testing must show at least a 98 percent probability that the man tested is the natural father of the child.   If the testing comes back that the man is not the natural father, the court will make that ruling and nothing further will be done except possibly taking the man's name off of the Putative Father Registry.  If the court determines the man is the natural father, it can proceed with the other issues of custody, visitation and child support.  The court will also order that the man's name be put on the child's birth certificate and that his name be added to the Putative Father Registry.

There is one more thing a man should be aware of.  If paternity has not been established and the child has not been put up for adoption, either the mother of the child or the man may request that the Family Support Division - Child Support Enforcement (FSD-CSE) obtain the necessary genetic tests to determine paternity of the child.  If it is determined that the man is the natural father of the child, the man may be required to repay the State of Missouri for the costs of the testing and he can be ordered to pay child support, including health insurance on the minor child.  FSD-CSE does not do anything regarding custody or visitation.  To establish these items and, in my opinion, to get a fair ruling on child support as well as custody and visitation, the man must file an action with the proper circuit court.

I advise my male clients that if they believe they are the natural father of a minor child, it is in their best interests to take the matters of paternity, custody, visitation and child support to the circuit court where the judge may take into consideration other items that the FSD-CSE can not or will not take into consideration on child support.