Acknowledged Parents and the Revocation of Parentage Act

6.9Acknowledged Parents and the Revocation of Parentage Act ¹

A.Acknowledged Parent

The Revocation of Parentage Act defines an acknowledged parent as “an individual who has affirmatively held themself out to be the child’s parent by executing an acknowledgment of parentage under the acknowledgment of parentage act MCL 722.1001 to MCL] 722.1013].” MCL 722.1433(a).

The Acknowledgment of Parentage Act defines an acknowledged parent as “an individual who has established a parent-child relationship under [MCL 722.1001 et seq.].” MCL 722.1002(a). Child means “a child conceived and born to a woman who was not married at the time of conception or the date of birth of the child, a child that the circuit court determines was born or conceived during a marriage but is not the issue of that marriage, or a child that is born to an individual who gave birth to a child conceived through assisted reproduction [as defined by the Assisted Reproduction and Surrogacy Parentage Act (ARSPA), MCL 722.1701 et seq.].^[²]” MCL 722.1002(c). An acknowledgment of parentage properly signed and filed with the state registrar establishes a child’s parentage. MCL 722.1004. “An acknowledgment [of parentage] may be signed any time during the child’s lifetime.” MCL 722.1003(4). The state form that satisfies the statutory requirements in MCL 722.1007 for a valid acknowledgment of parentage is called an Affidavit of Parentage (DCH-0682). See MCL 722.1008.

The individuals eligible to acknowledge parentage of a child are set forth in MCL 722.1003(1) to MCL 722.1003(3). MCL 722.1004. Those individuals are:

•A man who joins the child’s mother in completing a form that is an acknowledgment of parentage for a child who is born out of wedlock. MCL 722.1003(2). That man is considered the child’s natural father. Id.

•An individual who joins the individual who gave birth to the child in completing a form that is an acknowledgment of parentage for a child who was conceived by assisted reproduction and born out of wedlock. MCL 722.1003(2). That individual is considered the child’s natural parent. Id.

•The spouse of an individual who gave birth to a child conceived by assisted reproduction who completes a form that is an acknowledgment of parentage for that child. MCL 722.1003(3). That spouse is considered the child’s acknowledged parent. Id.

The Court of Appeals concluded that “[n]othing in the Acknowledgment of Parentage Act requires that the man completing the acknowledgment form actually be the child’s biological father.” In re Daniels Estate, 301 Mich App 450, 456 (2013). The Court further noted in support of that observation that a man signing an acknowledgment of parentage waives certain other methods of determining that he is the child’s biological father. Id. at 456-457.

An acknowledgment of parentage “is the equivalent to an adjudication of parentage . . . and . . . may be the basis for court-ordered child support, custody, or parenting time^[³] without further adjudication under the paternity act [MCL 722.711 et seq.], or under the assisted reproduction and surrogacy parentage act [MCL 722.1701 et seq.]. MCL 722.1004. A child whose parentage is established by acknowledgment “bears the same relationship to the birth parent and the acknowledged parent as a child born or conceived during a marriage and has the identical status, rights, and duties of a child born in lawful wedlock effective from birth.” Id.⁴

Because an acknowledgment of parentage “legally establishe[s] paternity and confer[s] the status of natural and legal father on the man executing the acknowledgment,” an order of filiation cannot be entered under the Paternity Act as long as the acknowledgment of parentage remains valid and has not been revoked. Sinicropi v Mazurek, 273 Mich App 149, 152 (2006). Revoking an acknowledgment of parentage requires filing a claim under the Revocation of Parentage Act. MCL 722.1007(h).

B.Termination of an Acknowledged Parent’s Parental Rights

An acknowledged parent’s parental rights may be terminated in cases of a stepparent adoption only when the acknowledged parent, for a period of two years or more before the petition for terminating his parental rights was filed, has had the ability to support the child and has failed to do so or has had the ability to communicate or visit with the child and has failed to do so. MCL 710.51(6)(a)-(b). An acknowledged parent’s parental rights may also be terminated in accordance with the provisions in the Juvenile Code, MCL 712A.19b. Similarly, the parental rights of a putative father who has established a custodial relationship with a child or who has, according to his ability, provided substantial and regular support to the child or the child’s mother during the 90 days before being served with notice of the petition to terminate his parental rights, may only be terminated under the circumstances governing stepparent adoptions, MCL 710.51(6), or under the Juvenile Code, MCL 712A.2.

C.Setting Aside an Acknowledgment of Parentage

MCL 722.1437 governs setting aside an acknowledgment of parentage under the Revocation of Parentage Act.⁵ MCL 722.1435(1).⁶

“The [child’s] mother, the acknowledged parent,^[⁷] an alleged father,^[⁸] or a prosecuting attorney may file an action for revocation of an acknowledgment of parentage.” MCL 722.1437(1). An action to revoke an acknowledgment of parentage under MCL 722.1437 “must be filed within 3 years after the child’s birth or within 1 year after the date that the acknowledgment of parentage was signed, whichever is later.” MCL 722.1437(1).

A petition to revoke an acknowledgment of parentage must be accompanied by an affidavit sufficient to establish one of the following: (1) mistake of fact, (2) newly discovered evidence that with due diligence could not have been discovered before the acknowledgment of parentage was signed, (3) fraud, (4) misrepresentation or misconduct, or (5) duress in signing the acknowledgment. MCL 722.1437(4)(a)-(e). If the affidavit is sufficient the court must order genetic testing in accordance with MCL 722.1443(6). MCL 722.1437(5).⁹

The genetic testing results are meant to assist the court in its determination under the Revocation of Parentage Act, but the results are not binding on the court. MCL 722.1443(6). The person filing the petition to revoke an acknowledgment of parentage “has the burden of proving, by clear and convincing evidence, that the acknowledged parent is not the father of the child.” MCL 722.1437(5).

“[A]n order revoking an acknowledgment of parentage constitutes an order ‘setting aside a paternity determination’ and, therefore, is subject to a best interest analysis under MCL 722.1443(4).” Helton v Beaman, 497 Mich 1001 (2015).

D.Court’s Refusal to Enter an Order Revoking an Acknowledgment of Parentage

“A court may refuse to enter an order . . . revoking an acknowledgment of parentage . . . if the court finds evidence that the order would not be in the best interests of the child.” MCL 722.1443(4).¹⁰ Factors a court may consider when deciding whether to enter an order revoking an acknowledgment of parentage are set forth in MCL 722.1443(4)(a)-(f).¹¹ If the court refuses to enter an order revoking an acknowledgment of parentage, it must state its reasons for the refusal on the record. MCL 722.1443(4).

¹The Revocation of Paternity Act was renamed the Revocation of Parentage Act by 2024 PA 29, effective April 2, 2025. For more information, see the Michigan Judicial Institute’s Quick Reference Materials—Setting Aside an Acknowledgment of Parentage.

²“Assisted reproduction” is defined MCL 722.1703(a) as “a method of causing pregnancy through means other than by sexual intercourse” including, but not limited to the methods listed.

³The initial grant of custody to the mother in an acknowledgment of parentage is “without prejudice to the determination of either parent’s custodial rights, until otherwise determined by the court or otherwise agreed upon by the parties in writing and acknowledged by the court”; it “does not, by itself, affect the rights of either parent in a proceeding to seek a court order for custody or parenting time.” MCL 722.1006; MCL 722.1007(c).

⁴“‘MCL 722.1004 affords the child the full rights of a child born in wedlock, [but] the statute does not grant a putative father who acknowledges paternity the same legal rights as a father whose child is born in wedlock.’” Sims v Verbrugge, 322 Mich App 205, 211 (2017), quoting Eldred v Ziny, 246 Mich App 142, 149 (2001). “[A]cknowledgment of paternity under MCL 722.1003 . . . merely entitles the parties to seek custody, support, or parenting time without the need to first obtain an order of filiation under the Paternity Act, MCL 722.711 et seq.” Eldred, 246 Mich App at 148-149. “[T]he Child Custody Act is the ‘exclusive means’ of pursuing child custody rights . . . .” Id. at 148, quoting Van v Zahorik, 460 Mich 320, 328 (1999).

⁵MCL 722.1437 does not apply to an action to revoke parentage of a child conceived by nonconsensual sexual penetration under MCL 722.1445(2). Blackman v Millward, ___ Mich App ___, ___ (2024). “These two provisions are mutually exclusive and, as a result, apply to disparate factual circumstances.” Id. at ___. “[MCL 722.1437], enacted in 2012, applies generally when an AOP [Acknowledgment of Parentage] is challenged.” Blackman, ___ Mich App at ___. “[MCL 722.1445(2)], adopted in 2016 to implement the [Rape Survivor Child Custody Act, 34 USC 21301, et seq.], only applies in the specific circumstances where a rape victim bears the child of her assailant.” Blackman, ___ Mich App at ___. For more information on revoking an AOP for a child conceived after nonconsensual sexual penetration, see the Michigan Judicial Institute’s Adoption Proceedings Benchbook, Section 3.15.

⁷ MCL 722.1433(a) defines an acknowledged parent as “an individual who has affirmatively held themself out to be the child’s parent by executing an acknowledgment of parentage under the acknowledgment of parentage act [ MCL 722.1001 to MCL] 722.1013].”

⁸ MCL 722.1433(c) defines an alleged father as “a man who by his actions could have fathered the child.”

¹⁰The court may also refuse to enter orders to set aside a paternity determination, to determine that a genetic father is not a child’s father, or to determine that a child was born out of wedlock. See MCL 722.1443(4).