3.18Notice of Intent to Claim Paternity
“Before the birth of a child born out of wedlock, a person claiming under oath to be the father of the child may file a verified notice of intent to claim paternity with the court in any county of this state. The form of the notice shall be prescribed by [DHHS] and provided to the court.[1] The notice shall include the claimant’s address.” MCL 710.33(1).
On receipt of the notice, the court must forward the notice of intent to claim paternity to the DHHS vital records division by the next business day.2 MCL 710.33(1). If the mother’s address is indicated on the notice, the vital records division must send a copy of the notice by first-class mail to the child’s mother.3 Id.
“A person filing a notice of intent to claim paternity shall be presumed to be the father of the child for purposes of [the Adoption Code] unless the mother denies that the claimant is the father. Such a notice is admissible in a paternity proceeding under [the Paternity Act, MCL 722.711, et seq.], and shall create a rebuttable presumption as to the paternity of that child for purposes of that act.[4] Such a notice shall create a rebuttable presumption as to paternity of the child for purposes of dependency or neglect proceedings under [the Juvenile Code, MCL 712A.2 et seq.]”5 MCL 710.33(2).
“A person who timely files a notice of intent to claim paternity shall be entitled to notice of any hearing involving that child to determine the identity of the father of the child and any hearing to determine or terminate his parental rights to the child.” MCL 710.33(3).
1 See the DHHS form Request for Verification of Notice of Intent to Claim Paternity. Note: The link to this resource was created using Perma.cc and directs the reader to an archived record of the page.
2 A case code is available “for handling certain adoption-related filings[, including notices of intent to claim paternity,] that precede the filing of a petition for adoption and for which a petition for adoption might not be subsequently filed.” SCAO Memorandum, New Case-Type Code for Adoption-Related Matters.
3 MCL 710.33 is silent on how the vital records division is to handle a notice that does not indicate the mother’s address.
4 For a discussion on paternity proceedings under the Paternity Act, see Section 3.3.
5 For a detailed discussion on abuse and neglect proceedings under the Juvenile Code, see the Michigan Judicial Institute’s Child Protective Proceedings Benchbook.